Salt Caverns as Strategic Petroleum Reserves [UPSC Notes]

Engineers India Ltd. (EIL) has been charged by the government with researching the potential and feasibility of creating salt caverns in Rajasthan as strategic petroleum reserves. This article goes into great length about the debate about creating petroleum reserves in Rajasthan from salt caverns. This is an important topic for the IAS exam Geography segment.

Salt Caverns as Strategic Petroleum Reserves:

• India has three strategic petroleum reserves at Mangaluru, Padur, and Visakhapatnam, which are made up of excavated rock caverns.
• In the past decade, there was a proposal for developing a strategic petroleum reserve in Bikaner district of Rajasthan but the project still needs to be initiated. 
• The present attempt of examining the possibility of a salt cavern-based strategic reserve is the revival of the proposal.
• The Engineer India Limited is partnering with German-based DEEP.KBB GmbH company since no other Indian company has the technology to develop a salt cavern into a strategic petroleum reserve.
• Salt caverns are geological formations that have salt inside. In order to develop a salt cavern, the salt has to be extracted.
• The majority of the caverns in Southern USA, in the Houston area, are all salt caverns.

Why is Rajasthan chosen for the project?

• The state of Rajasthan is chosen for this project for its geological and infrastructural advantage and is considered an ideal location. 
• Rajasthan is a state that consists of salt caverns and also has crude oil pipelines and an upcoming refinery in Barmer which makes it an ideal site.
• Salt caverns are developed by pumping water into geological formations with large salt deposits to dissolve the salt. Then the salt cavern is created by draining out the salt dissolved in water. 
• Rock caverns are developed through excavation which is a complex process and comparatively costlier than developing salt caverns.
• Developing salt caverns is easier, faster, less labour-intensive, and cheaper than building a rock cavern.
• India’s strategic petroleum reserves have a total capacity of 5.33 million tonnes of crude, which can meet around 9.5 days of India’s oil demand. 
• The strategic oil reserves come under Special Purpose Vehicle Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve which is under the petroleum ministry.

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