A strategic oil reserve with a capacity of 3.7 million metric tonne (MMT) will be set up at Chandikhol in Jajpur district to increase the storage capacity of petroleum products for use during emergency. The announcement was made by finance minister Arun Jaitley while presenting the Union budget 2017-18 on Wednesday.
Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The strategic oil reserve (SOR) would be the biggest in the country. Two such reserves at Chandikhol in Odisha and Bikaner in Rajasthan will enhance the country’s energy security taking our strategic reserve capacity to 15.33 MMT. This will increase our storage capacity to meet the consumption requirement of about 90 days, which is at par with the international benchmarks.”