The first cargo of crude oil from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), destined for the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) has set sail today.

 

“The cargo is the first under an agreement between ADNOC and ISPRL to locate 5.86 million barrels of ADNOC crude oil at ISPRL’s Karnataka facility in Mangalore,” an ADNOC statement said,

 

Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan and UAE’s Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, attended a ceremony to load approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil and flag it off.

 

This is a part of Pradhan’s three day visit to the UAE. Speaking at the occasion, he said, “The UAE is the first country to invest in India’s Strategic Reserves Programme. The strategic reserve will provide a boost to India’s energy security and help us deal with supply side disruptions. While part of the stored oil will be used for commercial purposes by ADNOC, the major part will be purely for strategic purposes."

 

The implementation of the strategic reserve agreement follows ADNOC’s announcement, in February, that an Indian consortium of three companies, comprising ONGC Videsh, IndianOil and Bharat Petro Resources had been awarded a 10 percent interest in Abu Dhabi’s new offshore Lower Zakum concession.

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