India May Store Some of Its Oil in the United States

India may store some of its crude oil in the US, the Hindustan Times newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.The proposal to store oil in the US is still in its infancy. Indian Oil Minister DharmendraPradhan and U.S. Energy Secretary DanBrouillette are likely to discuss the issue at the second Ministerial meeting of the India-U.S. Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP).

India is the world's third largest oil consumer, importing more than 80 percent of the crude oil it processes and consumes. Like the rest of the world, its fuel needs have been adversely affected by the outbreak, and analysts warn it may take longer than expected to recover.

Meanwhile, India has limited oil storage capacity, which was quickly reached during the crisis. In May, at least three Indian refineries asked to reduce supplies of Middle Eastern crude because there was no room to store the oil. Reuters reported last month that India's total imports fell to their lowest level in more than eight years in May, at 3.18 million barrels a day.

Some refiners have declared force majeure on imports, while others have sold surplus oil cargoes to the Indian government for strategic petroleum reserves.

Sufficient oil reserves are critical to India's energy security, and the fastest way to accumulate oil reserves is to use the reserve facilities of partners, of which the United States has become an important energy partner.

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