MRPL receives first parcel of Iranian crude oil

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) received the first parcel of Iranian crude oil on October 12, 2016 for the Mangalore Special Economic Zone crude oil storage developed by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL). The first parcel of 260,000 tonnes of Iran mix crude was received in a very large crude carrier, MT DINO. The crude is being pumped into the underground Mangaluru cavern for testing the facility. A second parcel of almost equal size is being procured by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The government intends to set up strategic crude oil storage facilities of over 5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), equivalent to the country’s 15-day requirement, in order to ensure energy security at all times. The storage facilities will come up at Visakhapatnam (1.33 mtpa), Mangaluru (1.5 mtpa) and Padur (2.5 mtpa). ISPRL, an SPV owned by the Oil Industry Development Board, has been created for the implementation and management of the project.