Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman at a press conference on India's 2025 budget
India struggles with SPR expansion
Plans to boost capacity have seen little progress as the country lags behind other major oil consumers and importers
India’s slow progress in developing its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) is a concern for the country’s energy ministry, which seems to have accelerated growth in everything else in the oil space. The government has plans to expand capacity, but India is still way behind its peers and shows little sign of achieving the energy security it craves any time soon. India operates three SPR facilities, all of which are in underground rock caverns on the eastern and western coasts, with a total designed capacity of 5.33mt. These can cumulatively provide c.9.5 days of oil requirements, as per the consumption levels seen in the 2019–20 financial year. 5.33mt – India’s SPR capacity Indian st
Also in this section
28 April 2026
Oil traders warning of $200/bl oil are wrong, and the market should be wary of proclamations that the impact of the oil shortage has only begun to be felt and a that a ‘harsh adjustment’ is coming—even for industrialised nations
28 April 2026
Restoring supply from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq involves complexities far beyond simply adjusting operational controls
28 April 2026
Datacentres will guzzle power at a ferocious rate, but the impact on wider energy markets will be far more complex than previously thought
28 April 2026
The key energy player faces balancing regional routes, political complexities, and creating a clear strategic vision for energy security
