India seeks more oil for strategic reserves as prices top $100 – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India is seeking to expand its emergency oil stockpiles, adding to already-strong demand from domestic refiners that are cranking up run rates amid a recovery in consumption.
The world’s third-largest oil consumer wants to prioritize filling its empty storage tanks as soon as possible, according to Indian government officials with direct knowledge of the matter. The tanks have space to hold about 8 million barrels of oil, they said.
The incremental demand from India is coming just as Brent oil surged above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014 as Russia’s attack on cities across Ukraine sparked fears of a disruption to the region’s critical energy exports.
Physical supplies of oil are also very tight right now as fuel consumption rebounds from its pandemic lows, prompting Asian refiners to boost run rates amid higher profits.
Foreign or local companies interested in storing oil in this round of the reserve build can lease caverns from Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves,
The facilities are located in Mangalore and Vizag in the country’s south, with crudes with density over 24 API degrees and Iraqi Basrah Light preferred for each location, respectively.
India has enough space to hoard 5.33 million tons (39.1 million barrels) of oil for strategic purposes, the equivalent of about nine days of demand based on 2019 consumption. The country meets about 85% of its oil requirement through imports.
Separately, the nation has yet to make good its promise to release 5 million barrels from reserves in a coordinated move led by the US President Biden rallied other consumers including Japan and South Korea for the unprecedented sale of oil from reserves late last year, which was aimed at bringing crude and gasoline prices down after OPEC+ ignored requests for a quicker return of oil.
India’s consumption of petroleum fuels are expected to touch a record next year after being whipsawed by several virus waves and tax-inflated pump prices in the past two years.

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