India’s strategic oil reserves at 64% capacity amid rising risks, Minister tells Rajya Sabha

As much as 85-95 per cent of LPG and 30 per cent of the gas came through the strait

• India's oil reserves are filled to about 64 percent capacity
• Reserves cover 74 days of demand and fluctuate with consumption
• India imports crude from 41 countries to diversify supply sources

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India’s strategic oil reserves, meant to act as a buffer during supply disruptions or price shocks, are currently filled to about two-thirds of their capacity, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

The country, the world’s third-largest energy consumer, depends on imports for nearly 88% of its crude oil needs. To safeguard against supply shocks, it has built underground storage facilities with a total capacity of 5.33 million tonnes at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Mangaluru and Padur in Karnataka.

"Quantity of the crude available in the caverns varies depending on market conditions," Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Suresh Gopi said in a written reply in the Upper House. "Currently, ISPRL has around 3.372 million tonnes of crude stock available, which is around 64 per cent of the total storage capacity."

Reserves fluctuate with demand and supply

Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd (ISPRL), the special purpose vehicle managing these facilities, maintains the stockpile as a dynamic reserve.

"The actual reserve is a dynamic number depending on the stocks and actual consumption, both of which are not static," he said.

The status of reserves has gained attention following disruptions linked to conflict in West Asia, which affected supplies of crude oil, natural gas and LPG from Gulf nations. India spent USD 110 billion in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year importing about 226 million tonnes of crude oil — accounting for 88.7 per cent of its needs.

Heavy reliance on key shipping route

Nearly half of these imports came from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the UAE, with shipments routed through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

India also spent USD 12.4 billion importing about half of its natural gas consumption between April 2025 and February 2026, while around 60 per cent of LPG demand was met through imports.

A significant portion — 85-95 per cent of LPG and about 30 per cent of gas — passes through the same narrow sea route. While crude oil disruptions have been partly offset by sourcing from Russia, West Africa, the US and Latin America, supplies of gas and LPG to industrial and commercial users have faced curbs.

Plans to expand storage capacity

Gopi said the government had approved two additional commercial-cum-strategic reserves in July 2021, with a combined capacity of 6.5 million tonnes — 4 million tonnes at Chandikhol in Odisha and 2.5 million tonnes at Padur in Karnataka.

"Work for construction at Padur has been awarded on October 1, 2025," he said.

The government has also moved to commercialise Phase-I reserves. An agreement between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and ISPRL allows ADNOC to use a 750,000-tonne cavern at Mangaluru.

Diversifying crude sources

India’s total storage capacity, including facilities held by oil marketing companies — currently covers about 74 days of demand.

"The actual reserve is a dynamic number depending on the stocks and actual consumption, both of which are not static," Gopi reiterated.

To reduce dependence on any single region, public sector oil and gas companies source crude from a wide range of suppliers.

"Currently, these PSEs import crude oil from 41 countries, including new suppliers like the USA, Nigeria, Angola, Canada, Columbia, Brazil and Mexico in addition to traditional suppliers in the Middle East such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar," he added.