May 14, 2018 [S&P Global] - State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Co said that it shipped on Saturday its maiden crude cargo to be stored at the strategic petroleum reserves in India's southern city of Mangalore under a deal signed in 2017.
The agreement was signed last year between ADNOC and ISPRL, an Indian government-owned company mandated to store crude oil for strategic needs, to locate 5.86 million barrels of ADNOC crude oil at the facility in the state of Karnataka.
The cargo of 2 million barrels of Abu Dhabi crude was loaded in the presence of ADNOC CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber and Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“The strategic reserve project represents an important new energy partnership with India that leverages the UAE and ADNOC’s expertise and oil resources,” Jaber said in a statement.
“With this partnership, new market opportunities will open up for ADNOC, as we not only help to ensure the energy security of the UAE’s largest trading partner, but also gain greater access to one of the fastest-growing markets for high-quality crude oil,” he added.
The implementation of the strategic reserve agreement follows ADNOC’s award of a 10% stake in Abu Dhabi’s new offshore Lower Zakum concession in February to an Indian consortium of three companies, comprising ONGC Videsh, Indian Oil Company and Bharat Petro Resources Ltd.
“This important partnership will further strengthen the close energy cooperation that exists between India and the UAE and builds on the historic acquisition of a stake in the Lower Zakum offshore concession by Indian companies,” Pradhan said in a statement.
“The strategic reserve will provide a boost to India’s energy security and help us deal with supply side disruptions. While part of the stored oil will be used for commercial purposes by ADNOC, the major part will be purely for strategic purposes,” he added.
In March 2017, the Indian cabinet approved plans Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd. and ADNOC’s crude storage partnership, following an agreement in January to store 5.86 million barrels of ADNOC oil at the underground SPR facility in Karnataka. The SPR storage facility can hold 11 million barrels of crude oil.
—————————-
TankTerminals.com – Research, Market and Expand Your Presence within the Tank Storage Industry
Learn more.
