India’s strategic crude oil reserves are thin enough to cover just 9.5 days of import requirements if supply is disrupted, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas confirmed in an RTI response to Media Agency.
The disclosure comes as West Asia the source of a large share of India’s crude imports remains mired in conflict, keeping oil markets edgy and supply routes, including the Strait of Hormuz, under watch.
India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) programme dates to January 7, 2004, when the government approved it, and Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL) was incorporated on June 16 that year to execute it. The country now has three underground storage facilities: Visakhapatnam (1.33 MMT), Mangaluru (1.5 MMT), and Padur (2.5 MMT), for a combined capacity of 5.33 million metric tonnes.
But the tanks are far from full. Data tabled in the Rajya Sabha on March 23, 2026 puts current stock at around 3.372 MMT about 64 percent of total capacity. The government has described the reserve figure as dynamic, varying with stock levels and consumption patterns.
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India imports over 85 percent of its crude needs, leaving it exposed to geopolitical supply shocks and price swings.
The RTI response also confirms that the government cleared an expansion of the SPR network in July 2021. Two new facilities are planned: a 4 MMT site at Chandikhol in Odisha and an additional 2.5 MMT at Padur in Karnataka. The 6.5 MMT expansion is proposed under a public-private partnership model and is yet to come online.
With existing sites running well below capacity and the expansion projects still pending, India’s buffer against a prolonged supply disruption remains limited.