CAG flags underutilization of India's strategic oil reserves
India's top auditor says our emergency oil reserves haven't been used to their full potential between 2018 and 2022.
Big gaps in storage, delays in selling oil, and slow decision-making have cut our backup supply from a planned 19 days down to just about 4.5 days—a lot less than what was promised.
What the audit found
The audit (updated through March 2024) spotted storage spaces sitting empty—sometimes over half unused since 2019.
These underground caverns in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are supposed to help us weather global oil shocks, but planning and execution haven't kept pace.
Delays hurt revenue and readiness
Even though the government approved crude trading back in July 2021, actual trading hasn't started yet because rules aren't set up.
This has slowed down ISPRL's goal to be self-sufficient and cost India potential earnings.
The bottom line on capacity
By March 2024, only about three-quarters of Phase I storage was filled—leaving a million tons empty.
That means our "oil safety net" is much thinner than intended, even though ISPRL did manage to earn over ₹5,000 crore by selling some reserves to major refineries.