India looks to increase its oil reserves

India brought oil for its strategic petroleum reserve (SPR) on Monday, marking the first round of purchases that will see the world’s fourth largest oil consumer build up emergency stockpiles.

The price of oil has fallen from $115 per barrel in mid-June 2014 to $48 per barrel in January 2015, leaving traders looking for new buyers.

Local sources told Reuters that the state refiner Indian Oil Corporation purchased 2 million barrel cargo of Iraqi crude from China International United Petroleum & Chemicals. The first stage of India’s SPRs will be loaded and shipped to the country in May.

State-refiners Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil Corporation are planning to purchase three more very large crude carriers between them for the Vizag SPR storage facility in Andhra Pradesh, located in southeast India.

India’s first underground SPR was built in Andhra Pradesh in February and two more, which are currently in the first of phase construction, are close to being completed.