Puri said that viable and safe oil reserves are very important for a rapidly developing country like India, so that the country does not become weak in the event of a global crisis. He said that oil refining plants are present on both the western and eastern coasts of India, which strengthens the supply system.

Citing the International Energy Agency (IEA), he said that India is currently the third largest consumer of crude oil in the world. Also, the country has the fourth largest refining capacity in the world, which is currently around 260 million metric tons per year and will increase to 320 million metric tons per year in the future. In addition, India is also the world’s fifth largest exporter of petroleum products.

The minister said the objective of the strategic petroleum reserves is to ensure that the country has enough oil available during any supply disruption or crisis globally. According to IEA standards, strategic reserves should ideally be able to meet needs for about 90 days.

Puri said that the government also includes the reserves present in oil refineries in the total estimate. If all the reserves are looked at together, the country currently has enough oil reserves for 74 days. He said that as a minister, I feel safe with 74 days of reserves, but increasing it further can be considered in future. He stressed that strategic petroleum reserves are an important foundation of economic stability and energy security.

Further, in a written reply to a question, the Minister informed that the Government has established strategic petroleum reserves facilities at three locations in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka through the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL), with a total capacity of 53.3 lakh metric tonnes of crude oil. The quantity of crude oil available in these reserves keeps increasing and decreasing according to market conditions.