US decision to lease SPR space to India after similar deal with Australia
July 19, 2020
India has signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States to lease space for strategic oil storage abroad. This memorandum was signed after a similar action was taken by Australia.
India is the largest consumer of oil after China and the United States. Due to this consumption, its SPR capacity is very low and about 39 million barrels.
The US SPR has a high capacity, currently 714 million barrels.
If the deal goes through, India could buy US crude at a lower price and store it easily.
US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette told reporters on July 10: “More details about the SPR lease to India are not yet available, but it could be similar to our actions with Australia, and we are very pleased to start talks with India.”
In April, Australia reached an agreement with the United States to establish its first emergency oil depot in the US SPR.
