Crude Reserve in Vizag Ensures 9.5 Days of Backup for Refineries
ISPRL, a subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, also operates similar underground storage facilities at Mangaluru and Padur.
Visakhapatnam: The rock cavern of Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), the country’s first operational underground strategic crude oil storage facility, located near Hindustan Shipyard Limited, plays a critical role in the emergency when the regular supplies are interrupted.
The facility has a storage capacity of 1.33 million metric tonnes (MMT) and is linked to the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited refinery. The cavern forms part of India’s strategic petroleum reserve system designed to safeguard against disruptions in crude supply.
The facility was originally developed as South Asia LPG Company Private Limited, a joint venture between HPCL and TotalEnergies, and became operational in 2007. It was later taken over by ISPRL and commissioned as a strategic crude storage site in 2016.
ISPRL, a subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, also operates similar underground storage facilities at Mangaluru and Padur.
Together, the three facilities store 5.33 MMT of crude oil, sufficient to support Indian refineries for about 9.5 days in case of supply disruptions. Officials said the country maintains adequate reserves and urged consumers to use cooking gas judiciously.
