India plans new strategic oil reserves in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh

The Story in Brief

The Centre is planning two new strategic petroleum reserves at Bikaner in Rajasthan and Bina in Madhya Pradesh, the petroleum ministry told a parliamentary standing committee. Feasibility studies for Bikaner are being finalised, while a pre-feasibility study for Bina is complete and a detailed report will be initiated soon, livemint.com reports. India imports about 90% of its crude oil. The new facilities are part of a push to increase storage beyond the existing 5.3 million tonnes capacity, which covers about 9.5 days of the country's requirement, the Times of India reports.

The government is also expanding reserves at Mangalore, Padur (Karnataka) and Chandikhol (Odisha) under Phase II, adding 6.5 million tonnes. The parliamentary committee has urged the ministry to move towards the global standard of 90 days of crude oil storage. At Chandikhol, land acquisition for 400 acres is complete. At Padur, a concessionaire agreement with Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd was signed in October 2025, with financial closure in progress.