Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

India plans to top up strategic reserves with cheap Saudi, UAE oil

INDIA plans to take advantage of low prices for oil from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to top up its strategic petroleum reserves (SPR), say sources in the know.

Global oil prices have fallen around 40 per cent in March as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic has destroyed demand, while supplies are growing following Moscow’s refusal to back deeper output cuts at a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its OPEC+ allies.


Leading OPEC producers Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi have said they will increase output while cutting prices, giving big consumers the chance to fill up at discounted prices.

“It is an opportune time for us and for them (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Saudi Aramco) to finalise the deals and fill the SPRs… If there is any delay, we might fill the SPRs on our own,” said an official, who did not want to be named.

A second source, who also requested anonymity, said the oil ministry has written to the finance ministry to release about Rs 48-to-50 billion rupees ($673.7 million) to buy oil in 8-9 very large crude carriers for filling the storage.

Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) and India's oil and finance ministry had no immediate comment, while ADNOC and Saudi Aramco declined to comment.

India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, imports about 80% of its oil needs and has built strategic storage at three locations in southern India to store up to 36.87 million barrels of oil or about 5 million tonnes to protect against supply disruption.

ISPRL, a company charged with building of strategic storage, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the UAE’s national oil company ADNOC for the lease of half of its 2.5 million tonnes Padur facility.

Last year it signed an MoU with Saudi Aramco for the lease of a quarter of Padur SPR.

The leases allow the national oil companies to store their oil, some of which will cater for India‘s strategic needs, while they can sell the rest to Indian refiners.

Padur has four compartments that hold about 4.6 million barrels each. The ISPRL has received 1 VLCC with Arab Mix to fill one compartment and will get a second VLCC in April, a third source said.

The ISPRL has already leased half of the 1.5 million tonnes capacity in Mangalore storage to ADNOC, which has stored about 5.5 million barrels of Das oil in the cavern, while ISPRL has retained the remainder.

“This is the right time to fill the SPRs before prices start moving up,” a third source said.

India has also filled its 1.03 million tonnes Vizag facility with Basra oil from another OPEC producer Iraq.

While India is primarily taking advantage of low prices as a consumer nation, US President Donald Trump aimed to help US energy producers struggling to cope with the price fall by announcing he would take advantage of low prices to fill up the nation’s emergency reserve.

(AFP)

More For You

JLR Tata

A logo is pictured outside a Jaguar Land Rover new car show room in Tonbridge, south east England.

JLR Q1 sales dip as US tariffs hit exports

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported a 10.7 per cent drop in sales for the April–June quarter, as a temporary pause in shipments to the United States and the phase-out of Jaguar’s legacy models weighed on volumes.

The company, owned by India’s Tata Motors, sold 87,286 units to dealers worldwide during the quarter, compared to 97,755 units in the same period last year.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less