{"id":70076,"date":"2026-03-25T18:50:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:20:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=70076"},"modified":"2026-03-25T18:52:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T13:22:26","slug":"strategic-petroleum-reserves-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/25-03-2026\/strategic-petroleum-reserves-india","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Strategic Petroleum Reserves Under Stress Amid Global Uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Energy Security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As of March 2026, nearly one-third (about 36%) of India\u2019s Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) remain unfilled, raising concerns amid rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SPRs are <strong>emergency stockpiles of crude oil <\/strong>maintained by governments to tackle supply disruptions and price shocks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The idea emerged after the <strong>1973 Oil Crisis,<\/strong> when oil supply disruptions exposed the vulnerability of import-dependent economies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In India, SPRs are managed by <strong>Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited<\/strong>, a special purpose vehicle under the <strong>Oil Industry Development Board.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Existing SPR Facilities: <\/strong>India has established SPRs with a total capacity of <strong>5.33 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT)<\/strong> at\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visakhapatnam (1.33 MMT)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mangaluru (1.5 MMT)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Padur (2.5 MMT)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In 2021, <strong>t<\/strong><strong>wo additional commercial-cum-strategic petroleum reserve facilities <\/strong>with total storage capacity of <strong>6.5 MMT were announced at;<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Chandikhol (4 MMT) in Odisha <\/strong>and\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Padur (2.5 MMT) in Karnataka<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Current Status of SPRs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India currently holds around <strong>3.372 million metric tonnes<\/strong> of crude oil, which is roughly 64% of its total storage capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This reduces effective reserve coverage to around <strong>5 days<\/strong>, significantly lower than the ~9.5 days available at full capacity, weakening India\u2019s emergency preparedness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The critical maritime choke point, <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, through which <strong>40\u201350%<\/strong> of India\u2019s crude imports pass, remains highly vulnerable to conflict-induced disruptions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Does It Matters for Fuel Security<\/strong><strong>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Vulnerability Due to Import Dependence:<\/strong> India imports over <strong>88% of its crude oil needs<\/strong>. Lower SPR levels reduce the country\u2019s ability to withstand prolonged supply disruptions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited Buffer Against Supply Shocks:<\/strong> SPRs are meant to provide short-term emergency cover. With only<strong> ~64% <\/strong>capacity filled, India\u2019s buffer is weaker during crises like wars or sanctions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Below Global Standards:<\/strong> The International Energy Agency recommends <strong>90 days <\/strong>of oil reserves. India currently has\u00a0 around <strong>74 days<\/strong> including commercial stocks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strategic and Geopolitical Leverage:<\/strong> Countries like the US, China, and Japan use SPRs as strategic tools. Limited reserves reduce India\u2019s influence in global energy markets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fill Existing Capacity:<\/strong> Prioritize filling SPRs, especially during periods of low global oil prices.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enhance Storage Capacity: <\/strong>Move towards meeting the 90-day reserve benchmark.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Promote Energy Transition:<\/strong> Increase share of renewables, biofuels, and alternative energy sources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthen Strategic Autonomy:<\/strong> Use SPRs as a tool for both energy security and market intervention.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-law\/sc-conversion-ruling-punjab-10599485\/?ref=infinite\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> As of March 2026, nearly one-third (about 36%) of India\u2019s Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) remain unfilled, raising concerns amid rising geopolitical tensions in West Asia. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> What are Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs)? <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> SPRs are emergency stockpiles of crude oil maintained by governments to tackle supply disruptions and price shocks. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The idea emerged after the 1973 Oil Crisis, when oil supply disruptions exposed the vulnerability of import-dependent economies. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> In India, SPRs are managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited, a special purpose vehicle under the Oil Industry Development Board.\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/25-03-2026\/strategic-petroleum-reserves-india \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70076"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70076\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70080,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70076\/revisions\/70080"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}