India to build a new 13 million barrel oil storage site after the Hormuz supply shock

India's state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will build a new storage site at Mangaluru in the state of Karnataka on the Arabian Sea, with capacity of 1.75 million tonnes, or about 13 million barrels of oil. The plan was reported by Oilprice on Tuesday 4 August 2026.

Suresh Gopi, India's Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, told parliament that half of the new capacity will be reserved for strategic storage and half will support ONGC's commercial operations, and that the project will be funded by ONGC itself. Indian media had earlier put the estimated investment at $1.6 billion.

India is the world's third largest crude oil importer and has been looking for alternatives to West Asian supply since the war and the disruption of flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Its existing underground strategic petroleum reserve holds 5.33 million tonnes, or 39 million barrels, equal to only eight days of national consumption.