Second Phase Of India’s Strategic Petrol Reserves Plan Off To A Good Start: Six Global Companies Express Interest

India’s plan to build strategic petroleum reserves that would come in handy during times of war and supply shocks has attracted interest from quite a few oil companies. At least six firms from different parts of the globe have shown an inclination to partner with India for the second phase of the project, as reported by The Economic Times.

“We have already received interest from over half-a-dozen companies for the second phase in the past three months. These are mostly construction companies, commodity trading firms or investment banks. While most of them want to either operate or construct or source the crude, we are looking for a company which can do all the three,” H P S Ahuja, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of India Strategic Petroleum Reserves (ISPRL) told ETEnergyworld.

It was earlier reported that global oil traders such as Vitol Group, Trafigura Group Pte Ltd and Glencore Plc have shown interest in India’s offer. In a first-of-its-kind anywhere in the world, the second phase of this project would be developed along the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model. 

Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) working under the Union Petroleum Ministry, has already constructed reserves at three places in India: Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur. These three have a combined capacity to meet about ten days of India’s crude oil requirements. In June 2018, the NDA government approved the construction of two new reserves that would provide additional capacity for 12 more days. Major oil-consuming nations like the US, China and Japan have also built huge reserves of petrol.