← Concept Library · International Relations
International Relations GS 2 In the news 25 times

India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR)

India's Strategic Petroleum Reserves are underground storage facilities for crude oil maintained as a buffer against supply shocks. They are managed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB) under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Key details
  • Phase I SPR capacity: 5.33 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) across three underground rock cavern facilities:
  • Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: 1.33 MMT
  • Mangaluru, Karnataka: 1.5 MMT
  • Padur, Karnataka: 2.5 MMT
  • Total Phase I capacity provides approximately 9.5 days of India's petroleum consumption.
  • For comparison, the International Energy Agency (IEA) recommends members maintain 90 days of net import cover; India's Phase I is far below this benchmark.
  • Phase II expansion approved in 2021 includes two additional facilities at Chandikhol, Odisha (4 MMT) and Padur expansion (2.5 MMT), adding 6.5 MMT — but these remain under development.
  • Further expansion plans (six additional sites including Mangalore SEZ and Bikaner salt caverns) are at feasibility stage.
In the news

Tracked since March 01, 2026 · last seen June 29, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes

Related concepts
See it in today’s brief. Daily current affairs with every static concept explained in place.
Read the daily brief