(TOI)
The government today decided to set up two more underground crude oil storages in Odisha and Karnataka to increase emergency stockpile cover by 12 days to 22 days. The Cabinet has approved setting up of four million tonnes (MT) storage at Chandikhole in Odisha and 2.5 MT storage at Padur in Karnataka, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters here.
He, however, did not give details of the cost or the timelines, saying this is just an in-principle approval and detailed engineering will decide the two factors. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The storages will be added to the existing rock caverns to shore 5.33 MT of crude – Visakhapatnam (1.33 MT), Mangalore (1.5 MT) and Padur (2.5 MT). The total 5.33 MT capacity under Phase-1 of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) programme is estimated to supply approximately 10 days of India’s crude requirement according to the consumption data for 2016-17, A Petroleum Ministry release said.
