New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Indian government has expressed confidence that the first shipment of crude oil from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to fill the country's strategic petroleum reserve at Mangalore will arrive in May this year. India's Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said that ADNOC has indicated its oil consignments are booked for the next two months and the first consignment should arrive by May.
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"ADNOC will invest about $400 million by way of storing crude in one of the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) underground rock cavern in Mangalore of capacity 5.86 million barrels (0.81 MMT). The period of storage will be 3 years with an automatic extension of 2+2 years," Pradhan said on Tuesday in New Delhi.
Two important highlights of PM’s UAE visit are:
— Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) February 13, 2018
1.Concession Agreement b/w an Indian Consortium & ADNOC for award of 10% stake in Lower Zakum Offshore oil fieldhttps://t.co/o4URQphBmK Agreement b/w ISPRL & ADNOC to operationalize the filling up of a SPR
cavern in Mangalore. pic.twitter.com/nNq6DuZXkj
"Propelled by an economy that will grow to more than five times its current size by 2040, India's energy demand is forecast by the International Energy Agency (IEA) to grow by more than any other country in the period to 2040 and account for one-third of total incremental growth," India's Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas said in a statement.
At present, the UAE is the fifth largest import source and accounts for about 6% of India's total crude imports.
