By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: In the current global situation, especially the ongoing war and geopolitical instability in the Middle East, Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has expressed concern about strengthening the country’s energy security in the future. In this context, to secure the country’s oil needs in the future, he has written separate letters to Union Petroleum Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri and Odisha Chief Minister Shri Mohan Charan Majhi, requesting them to take steps for early completion and expeditious operationalization of the 4 million metric tonne (MMT) capacity ‘Strategic Petroleum Reserve’ (SPR) project to be set up at Chandikhol in Jajpur district.
Shri Pradhan has given his reaction to the media and highlighted its importance in the said letter. He said, under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Union Cabinet approved this project at Chandikhol on June 27, 2018. I had written a letter to the then Chief Minister in this regard, but it could not be implemented. In the next phase, on April 8, 2025, in New Delhi, in the presence of Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Chief Minister of Odisha Shri Mohan Charan Majhi and myself, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between EPCOL, Government of Odisha and Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited (ISPRL) and the work has progressed.
The project, to be built at a cost of about Rs 8,743 crore, will be the world’s largest underground crude oil storage facility. It will create direct and indirect employment opportunities for over 5,000 people. India currently has an oil storage capacity of 9.5 days. When the Chandikhol project is operational, it will add an additional 7.12 days to the country’s crude oil requirement. The project will make a significant contribution to Odisha’s GDP and will boost the transport, hospitality and construction industries. The storage will act as a ‘buffer stock’ for the country in times of oil price volatility or supply disruption in the global market. It will make Odisha the main driver of industrial and economic growth in eastern India and fulfill the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Mission Purvoday’. The project will not only ensure energy security but also boost the country’s economy and will be of particular help in times of emergency.
