India is moving to expand its strategic petroleum reserves with new underground storage facilities at Bina in Madhya Pradesh and Bikaner in Rajasthan, alongside additional capacity at Mangalore, according to Business Today. The initiative is aimed at strengthening the country's energy security against global supply disruptions, the report said.
New caverns and Mangalore expansion
According to a parliamentary committee report cited by Business Today, government-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) has completed the feasibility study for the Bikaner caverns and is in the process of finalising it. A pre-feasibility study for Bina has also been completed, with a detailed feasibility report to be initiated soon.
Separately, ISPRL is planning a 1.7 million tonne (MT) storage facility at Mangalore, adjacent to its existing Phase-I facility. The agency has completed a feasibility study, acquired 155 acres of land and is obtaining special economic zone (SEZ) notification for 66 acres. The facility will be built by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), the report added.
Current strategic reserve capacity
India currently holds strategic oil reserves of 5.3 MT, developed under Phase-I at Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Managed by ISPRL, this capacity is estimated to meet about 9.5 days of the country's crude oil requirement, according to Business Today.
| Phase | Location | Capacity (MT) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase-I | Mangalore, Padur, Visakhapatnam | 5.3 (combined) | Operational |
| Phase-II (Padur-II) | Padur, Karnataka | 2.5 | Concessionaire agreement signed Oct 2025 |
| Phase-II (Chandikhol) | Chandikhol, Odisha | 4.0 | 400 acres acquired, RFP under review |
| Proposed | Mangalore | 1.7 | Feasibility complete, SEZ notification in process |
| Proposed | Bina, Madhya Pradesh | Not disclosed | Pre-feasibility complete |
| Proposed | Bikaner, Rajasthan | Not disclosed | Feasibility study complete, finalisation underway |
Phase-II expansion plans
The government is adding 6.5 MT of reserves under its Phase-II expansion plan — 2.5 MT at Padur and 4 MT at Chandikhol in Odisha — with both projects approved in July 2021, the report stated. At Chandikhol, 400 acres of land have been acquired and the request for proposal (RFP) is under review. At Padur-II, ISPRL signed the concessionaire agreement with the selected bidder in October 2025, while financial closure is in progress.
Parliamentary panel's recommendations
The developments have been flagged in the latest action-taken report of the parliamentary standing committee on petroleum and natural gas, which has urged the ministry to ensure timely completion of the projects and work towards the global benchmark of maintaining 90 days of crude oil storage.
The committee urged the petroleum ministry to ensure the finalisation of RFPs, SEZ notification and financial closures within the scheduled timelines, while ensuring optimal utilisation of funds, besides maintaining global standard of 90 days of crude oil storage within the country as soon as feasible, according to the action-taken report.
The committee also asked the ministry and oil companies to explore more cavern sites in areas with suitable geological conditions, citing the need to strengthen India's energy security amid global geopolitical uncertainties.
For commodity traders and procurement analysts, the reserve build-out is a structural demand factor for crude stockholding: India's current strategic stockpile covers only about 9.5 days of crude oil requirement, while the parliamentary panel has set the global benchmark of 90 days as the target, according to Business Today. The pace at which RFPs, SEZ notifications and financial closures are completed will determine how quickly the new state-held inventories at Bina, Bikaner and Mangalore come on stream, the report suggested.
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