India orders $1.6 billion expansion of strategic oil reserves with new 1.75 million-ton Mangaluru site

India’s government has directed Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) to invest $1.6 billion to build a new 1.75 million-metric-ton underground strategic petroleum reserve facility in Mangaluru. The project would lift India’s total underground crude storage capacity by about one third to around 7 million metric tons, or roughly 52 million barrels, while cover would still be only about 9–10 days. The move follows a supply crisis tied to conflict in the Middle East that pushed up India’s energy import bill and domestic fuel prices.