STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE (SPR)

About: 

• The Government of India is setting Strategic petroleum reserves, which are essentially huge stockpiles of crude oil that would serve as a cushion during any external supply disruptions. 
  
  
• These strategic storages would be in addition to the existing storages of crude oil and petroleum products with the oil companies. 
  
  
• Working: 
  • In India, these are being constructed near the coastal regions in underground rock caverns (as they are considered the safest means of storing hydrocarbons). 
    
    
  • Crude oil from these caverns can be supplied to the Refineries either through pipelines or through a combination of pipelines and ships. 
    
    
  
  
  

Indian scenario: 

• ISPRL has constructed three strategic petroleum reserves at Visakhapatnam on the East Coast, and at Mangaluru and Padur (near Udupi) on the West Coast. These facilities, with total capacity of 5.33 million tonnes, can meet 10 days of India’s crude oil requirements. 
  
  
• In July 2018, the government approved the construction of two more reserves at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka, having an aggregate capacity of 6.5 million tonnes. The new facilities can provide additional supply for about 12 days. 
  
  
• In 2018, the Government of India also announced that it would increase the size of the SPR to 87 days’ worth of the country’s net crude oil imports by 2020.