The Indian cabinet has approved building strategic crude oil reserves to enhance the country's energy security, the defence minister said.

A cabinet committee gave its approval on Friday to the construction of the 5-mln-ton crude oil reserves, Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. The storage depots will be built over the next nine years at an estimated cost of 112.7 bln rupees, the minister said. The facilities, to be fashioned after the United States'' storage depots, will be built at two places -- Mangalore on India's west coast, and the eastern port city of Vishakapatnam. "The project will enhance the energy security of the country, particularly during short-term oil disruptions," Mukherjee said. India, which imports 70 pct of its 105 mln ton crude oil requirement every year, will be the first country in South Asia to construct strategic oil reserves. PIN/INDIA DAILY
کد خبر 76949