(FE)
The first consignment of 2 million barrels of crude oil that is en route from United Arab Emirates (UAE) for India’s strategic petroleum reserve at Mangalore, will help the world’s third largest oil importer’s energy security programme.
With India building around 39 million barrels of strategic crude oil storage facility, the 5.86 million barrels supplied by state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)—the only one to partner with India on its crude oil reserve programme till date, can be used during an emergency. According to a 12 May Indian government statement the loading of the first crude consignment was witnessed by petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan who is currently on a visit to the gulf nation.
Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) has an agreement with ADNOC under which ADNOC will store around 5.86 million barrels of crude oil in India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) facility at Mangalore at its own cost. This agreement was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi visit to UAE in February this year.
This comes in the backdrop of a spike in oil prices with President Donald Trump pulling US out of a 2015 historic accord with energy rich Iran that was inked to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme in return for ending sanctions. Also, there has been a rally in international crude oil prices due to a combination of factors such as Opec and Russia cutting supplies, falling production in Venezuela and geopolitical tensions.
