India’s Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the country is seeing for a possibility to store some cheap oil in US facilities as India’s local storage is full.
According to Pradhan, India has filled up its 5.33 million tonnes of strategic storage, or about 20% of the annual needs. The country has also stored around 8.5-9 million tonnes of oil in vessels around the world, mainly in the Gulf.
Likewise, Indian refiners have all filled their commercial tanks and pipelines with oil and refined fuels.
India plans to build new strategic storage to up its capacity by 6.5 million tonnes, and Pradhan expressed his welcome to global investors willing to participate.
In April, India’s fuel demand almost halved near to its record low in 2007 due to the nationwide lockdown and travel restriction to curb the spread of coronavirus.
So far this month, India’s petrol and diesel demand are about 60-65% of the ones in May 2019.
Going forward, in June, the fuel consumption level is expected to return to the level seen in June last year.
