India looking to store oil overseas in US, other commercially viable locations: Pradhan

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ India, the world”s third-biggest oil importer, is exploring storing crude oil in the US and other commercially viable locations to hedge its supply risks, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Tuesday.

Also, the country has tied up long-term crude oil supplies from the US, Russia and Angola to diversify its import basket beyond its traditional suppliers in the volatile Middle-East.

Speaking at a conference on the ”Energy Security Towards Atmanirbhar Bharat”, he said India is now importing crude oil from over 30 countries, including from Africa, North and South Americas as well as Southeast Asia.

“We are also exploring overseas crude storage facilities in the US and other commercially viable locations,” he said. India and the US had on July 17 signed a preliminary agreement for cooperating on emergency crude oil reserves, including the possibility of India storing oil in the US emergency stockpile.