Two consignments totalling three million barrels of crude oil have already been unloaded into the caverns of ISPRL (Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd) in Mangaluru and Padur (Udupi district), according to Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL).
Quoting M Venkatesh, Managing Director of MRPL, a press release said here on Friday that the first consignment of 2 million barrels by MRPL, and the second consignment of 1 million barrels by IOCL have already been successfully unloaded into the ISPRL caverns.
It said that a series of crude oil cargoes of volumes ranging from 1 million barrels to 2 million barrels are being sourced by MRPL, IOCL and BPCL. They will be unloaded in the SPM (Single Point Mooring) facility of MRPL under the jurisdiction of NMPT (New Mangalore Port Trust) during April and May before the onset of monsoon in the region.
It said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has mandated ISPRL to work closely with public sector oil companies, including MRPL, to achieve the target of filling up Mangaluru and Padur caverns by taking advantage of the prevailing low crude oil prices in the international market.
The company statement said that MRPL’s role is crucial in filling the 1.5 million tonne facility in Mangaluru and 2.5 million tonne facility at Padur, as MRPL extends its SPM and booster station facilities for this activity.
Located 17 km away from shore in the Arabian sea, MRPL’s SPM facility is used to pump crude oil from ships of different size, including very large crude carrier vessels.
Crude discharged from the ship through SPM and through the 17-km sub-sea pipeline reaches the MRPL booster station located at the landfall point. From the booster station, the crude is routed through the crude oil pipeline to Mangaluru ISPRL cavern, or through the booster pump to caverns located at Padur (30 km away from Mangaluru) in Udupi district.