India will release 5 million barrels of crude oil from its emergency stockpile in tandem with the US, China, Japan, and other major economies to cool international oil prices.
This is the first time ever that India, which stores 5.33 million tonne or about 38 million barrels of crude oil in underground caverns at three locations on the east and west coast, is releasing stocks for such purposes.
the US stocks 727 million barrels, Japan holds 175 million barrels of crude and oil products as part of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
Need for it:
India is the world’s third-largest oil consumer and importing nation and has been severely impacted by the relentless rise in international oil prices.
Members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies have rebuffed repeated requests to speed up their production increases.
The US had last week made an unusual request to some of the world’s largest oil-consuming nations, including China, India and Japan, to consider releasing crude stockpiles in a coordinated effort to lower global energy prices.
Strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs):
These are underground oil storage infrastructure.
The oil in the three facilities already built can help meet 10 days of crude requirement and the two planned ones can hold supply of about 12 more days. So, once completed, the country will have crude oil storage capacity to last for 82 days.
Strategic Oil reserves are in Padur, Karnataka, Mangalore and Vishakhapatnam. New ones are being built at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur.
Government has signed deal with foreign companies to store the oil in these reserves.
