Taking a lesson from the war-like situation in Western Asia, India is now going to take a big step. The government has decided to create a large reserve of crude oil, LPG and LNG for the country’s need for a month. Under this plan, the existing stock of crude oil will be increased to 120 million barrels.
New Delhi: India is making a big ‘master plan’ to ensure that there is no shortage of petrol and diesel in the country in case of war. The central government has decided to prepare one month’s emergency stock of crude oil, cooking gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the country. For this, the Petroleum Ministry has also formed a special committee, which will decide whether these huge reserves should be built underground or above.
Lessons learned from the Gulf crisis
Actually, India had to face a lot of difficulties after the attacks on Iran by America and Israel. The Strait of Hormuz, through which oil ships pass, was almost completely closed. This exposed the biggest weakness of India dependent on oil imports. During that crisis, India had to control the supply of diesel, LPG and gas in the country.
Target: 120 million barrels of crude oil
Currently, India has a reserve of about 39 million barrels of crude oil, which is enough for only 8 days. This is very less compared to China, the second biggest power in Asia. However, if the stocks of refineries and petrol pumps are combined, the country has oil for more than 70 days. Under the new plan, this reserve will be more than doubled over the next five years by creating huge underground caves on the east and west coasts. The goal is to reach at least 120 million barrels.
Storage of LPG and LNG is a big challenge
Due to security reasons, there is no large emergency stock of cooking gas (LPG) and LNG in the country. LPG is made liquid under very high pressure and LNG is kept at very cold temperatures. Therefore, strict safety measures are required to avoid any leakage or explosion.
According to Takshila Institution of Bengaluru, the storage capacity of LPG in the country is only 1.4 lakh tonnes. This stock is in caves under the rocks on the east and west coasts and can meet only two days’ needs. Due to storage difficulties and huge expenses, India has till now been dependent on regular imports. But now the ministry has asked oil refinery companies to increase the stock of LPG for emergency.
In the case of gas (LNG), the situation is even worse, because there is no reserve stock of it. Therefore, the government came up with a draft policy last year, directing LNG terminals to store 10% more LNG than their normal requirement. If necessary, the government will take it under its control. Importing companies like Petronet LNG are already building new storage tanks.