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Indian crude oil reserve plan runs into resource crunch

AFP, Bangalore, India
India's proposed strategic oil reserve to tide over a war in Iraq would cost heavily, but the country is already well-prepared, the petroleum minister said Saturday.
"I do not feel the war is coming so quickly. We assure you that our tanks are full and there will not be any disruptions. There will be no shortage. I will advise the public to save oil," Ram Naiksaid.
He said that building the strategic reserves "means heavy costs."
"They are being estimated and
will be executed. It is under the planning stage now," Naiksaid.
"My ministry has only a budget of 90 million rupees (1.8 million dollars). That will pay only the salary of employees. (State-run) oil companies manage everything else.
"So it will have to be decided who will bear the costs of such reserves," Naiksaid.
"It is a policy decision which will have to be taken. How much quantity and what is the cost. All these things will be finalised in due course," he said.
Naiksaid consultations would be
held soon with the finance, defence and energy ministries.
The petroleum ministry is considering boosting the storage of crude oil from the current 19 days to 45 days.
The plan, according to officials in the ministry, would be implemented in phases by first increasing crude oil storage capacity by five million tonnes to 24 million tonnes.
The process will cost 52 billion rupees (1.1 billion dollars) and the new storage facility would be built through contributions from national oil firms and additional taxes on
retailed fuel, officials said, quoting a blueprint.
Naik said state-owned oil companies have already stockpiled more than 40 days worth of petroleum products and 15 days of crude oil, and that supplies have been contracted from countries beyond the likely conflict zone.
India's projected requirement for the year to March is 108 million tonnes of crude oil compared with production of 33 million tonnes and 55 million tonnes of natural gas against the production of 24 million tonnes.