Centre urges Odisha government to cooperate over SPR establishment

The Centre on Wednesday urged the Odisha government to cooperate with it in the establishment of the proposed Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) facility at Chandikhol.

The Centre's move was apprised to the state government when Sanjay Sudhi, the joint secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, met Odisha Chief Secretary A P Padhi here at the state secretariat. Since the facility will be the underground strategic oil reserve for eastern India and generate employment for 4,000 people during the construction phase, the state government should cooperate in establishing the project, Sudhir told reporters.

He said the Odisha government has assured the central government of support in setting up the SPR. Sudhir said the proposed SPR in Jajpur district with 4 million metric ton capacity will be built over 400 acres of land, at an investment of Rs 6,500 crore. The project would also include a pipeline from Chandikhole to Paradip.

The oil ministry official said that experts from both the Centre and the state government will soon meet to discuss the modalities of implementation of the project. The Union Cabinet had approved the establishment of an additional 6.5 million metric ton SPR facilities at two locations in Odisha and Karnataka.