The first consignment of 2 million barrels of crude oil from the UAE for India's strategic petroleum reserve at Mangalore is en-route to India and will help it deal with supply side disruptions, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has said.
The cargo is the first under an agreement between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), an Indian government-owned company mandated to store crude oil for strategic needs.
The loading of approximately 2 million barrels of ADNOC crude oil was witnessed by Pradhan and Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi yesterday.
Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan said: "The UAE is the first country to invest in India's Strategic Reserves Programme. 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."