Dharmendra Pradhan Demands Immediate Progress on Odisha’s Chandikhol Petroleum Reserve

28 Mar 2026, 07:14 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

With global energy security on edge because of the West Asia turmoil, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan wants the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) project at Chandikhol in Odisha’s Jajpur district to progress much more quickly. He sent a letter to both the Chief Minister and the Union Petroleum Minister, stressing that India needs stronger fuel reserves—fast—to shield the economy if oil supplies get disrupted.

This project’s a big deal. It’s a ₹8,743 crore investment designed to build a 4-million-metric-tonne underground cavern for crude oil. When it’s finished, India receives an extra 7.12 days of reserves, making the country’s energy position much more secure. Chandikhol is a crucial part of Phase II of the SPR plan, which is meant to almost double how much oil India can store right now.

But the project has faced delay after delay. Even though the Union Cabinet gave the green light back in June 2018, not much has happened in eight years. The main problems? Getting the land has dragged on and there are active stone quarries right where the facility needs to go. An MoU between Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd (ISPRL) and the Odisha government was signed in April 2025, but real construction hasn’t started.

Now, with renewed pressure from the Union Minister, the goal is to finally break through the red tape and fix the local site issues that have stalled progress for nearly ten years. By framing the project as a matter of national security—not just another infrastructure job—the Ministry hopes to clear the last hurdles and get things moving, so India’s energy safety net is truly ready.