BIKANER, Aug. 19 -- Rajasthan's Bikaner is poised to become a major strategic petroleum storage hub after feasibility studies for a proposed 5.625-million-tonne (MMT) underground crude-oil reserve were completed and are now being finalised, the Union petroleum ministry has told a Parliamentary Standing Committee. The facility, to be developed using underground salt caverns, forms part of the Centre's plan to expand India's strategic petroleum reserve network and bolster preparedness against disruptions in crude-oil supplies. "The feasibility study for the proposed Bikaner strategic petroleum reserve has been completed and is under finalisation," Chunnilal Garasiya, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and member of the Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas, told HT. The ministry's response was recorded in the committee's report tabled in Parliament on August 12. The panel said two new strategic petroleum reserve projects were under consideration at Bikaner in Rajasthan and Bina in Madhya Pradesh. While feasibility studies for the Bikaner caverns have been completed and are being finalised, the pre-feasibility study for Bina has concluded and a detailed feasibility report is to be initiated. The proposed capacity at Bikaner has been revised from earlier estimates of around 5.2-5.3 MMT to 5.625 MMT. Documents of Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd show that Engineers India Ltd was engaged in July 2024 to revalidate an existing detailed feasibility report and revise it for the increased 5.625-MMT capacity. The project assumes significance as India currently has three operational strategic petroleum reserves at Visakhapatnam, Mangaluru and Padur, with a combined capacity of 5.33 MMT. The petroleum ministry has previously said these facilities provide only about 9.5 days of crude-oil cover. The parliamentary panel has now called for India to work towards the international benchmark of maintaining 90 days of crude-oil stocks, stressing that strategic reserves are critical for energy security in the event of supply disruptions or international market shocks. Additional reserves have already been approved at Chandikhol in Odisha and Padur in Karnataka, while Bikaner and Bina remain among the projects being considered for further expansion....