因石油進口量增長印度將持續發展戰略石油儲備

In response to India’s increasing reliance on petroleum imports, India plans to bring online the country’s first strategic petroleum reserve (SPR). The first phase of India’s SPR includes three locations (Visakhapatnam, Mangalore, and Padur) in southern India with a combined capacity of 39.1 million barrels of crude oil. The Visakhapatnam facility on the eastern coast began filling its underground caverns last summer. The Mangalore and Padur facilities are expected to be completed in late 2016, according to FACTS Global Energy. Once filled, these three facilities would provide an estimated 13 days of net oil import coverage, based on 2015 consumption and production data.

India’s ultimate goal is to have an SPR that provides 90 days of net import coverage. The Indian government unveiled plans to add another 91 million barrels of SPR capacity in a second phase by 2020, although these facilities are still in the planning phase. The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), a special-purpose legal entity owned by the Oil Industry Development Board, would manage all of the SPR facilities.

The significant drop in international oil prices since mid-2014 provides India with an incentive to speed up construction and filling of its SPR. India is seeking to finance the second phase of its SPR partially through commercial agreements with foreign oil producers who can lease storage. India is currently negotiating with the United Arab Emirates’ national oil company, ADNOC, to lease 5.5 million barrels of the Mangalore facility. Two-thirds of this volume would be available for India, and ADNOC could store the remaining volumes or sell the oil in the domestic market.