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
4 December 2025
Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December
3 December 2025
Aramco’s pursuit of $30b in US gas partnerships marks a strategic pivot. The US gains capital and certainty; Saudi Arabia gains access, flexibility and a new export future
2 December 2025
The interplay between OPEC+, China and the US will define oil markets throughout 2026
1 December 2025
The North African producer’s first bidding round in almost two decades is an important milestone but the recent extension suggests a degree of trepidation
