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    The Indian Eye
             OPINION                                                                   AUGUST 21, 2026                                      10

                      Fujairah and the Indian

            Strategic Petroleum Reserve

              These SPR facilities are designed to act as emergency reserves to offset energy supply chain

             disruptions caused by unexpected crises, such as the ongoing conflict in West Asia, as well as

                                      stabilize oil prices that tend to fluctuate amid any turmoil

                                                                                                                           Graphic courtesy: IDSA

                                              bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Presi-   serves (SPR) architecture, and there-  laid the foundation for Fujairah, a
                                              dent of the UAE, was the MoU on   fore move away from its traditional   critical energy hub, to emerge as the
                                              Strategic Collaboration between In-  reliance on domestic facilities and   preferred location to position over-
                                              dian Strategic Petroleum Reserves   towards overseas SPR, is that the   seas Indian SPR.
                                              Limited (ISPRL) and Abu Dhabi     existing  infrastructure  might  prove   For the UAE, the development
                                              National Oil Company (ADNOC).     insufficient  to  keep  up  with  India’s   of Fujairah as a hub for overseas In-
                                              This particular MoU encompasses   growing energy needs during periods   dian SPR would not only reinforce
                                              three primary objectives, including   of protracted hostilities and long-  its growing strategic relevance in the
                                              the ‘potential storage of crude oil in   term disruptions to energy supply.   energy sector but also generate rev-
                                              Fujairah, UAE, to form part of the   Overseas Indian SPR that would po-  enue by hosting foreign SPR on its
                                              Indian strategic petroleum reserve’.  tentially be established in Fujairah,   soil through the diversification of its
                  SAMAN AYESHA KIDWAI             While on the surface, it might   therefore, would be able to comple-  revenue generation avenues beyond
                                              appear  that this objective adds  an-  ment India’s existing infrastructure   energy exports, as well as establish a
                  he robust energy security part-  other dimension to a crucial strategic   over the long term. It will also allow   viable commercial and strategic rela-
                  nership between India and the   partnership  between  the  two  coun-  India to leverage the existing infra-  tionship with one of the world’s fast-
            TUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)       tries, it is, in actuality, an integral pil-  structure at Fujairah instead of in-  est-emerging economies.
            was strengthened following Prime   lar of New Delhi’s drive to create a   vesting in the development of new fa-  India and the UAE have been
            Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to   more resilient energy framework, to   cilities at home or elsewhere abroad.  engaged in an SPR arrangement
            Abu Dhabi in May 2026. Among the   much better prepare to mitigate the   At the same time, it can be ar-  since 2018, under which oil has been
            multiple sectors that were highlight-  fallout of a global energy shock, per-  gued that the longstanding diplomat-  stored at Mangaluru for India’s stra-
            ed as areas of deepening bilateral co-  haps much more consequential than   ic and strategic cooperation between   tegic use and for the UAE to re-ex-
            operation, energy security, especially   the disruptions caused due to the   the two countries on the one hand,   port. While the maximum storage
            given the recent events in West Asia,   Strait of Hormuz crisis.    and the robust eight-year partner-  capacity is around 11 million barrels,
            is arguably of foremost importance.   One  of  the  fundamental  rea-  ship, beginning in 2018, between   ADNOC and ISPRL each exercise
                Among the key outcomes of his   sons that India might be looking to   ISPRL and ADNOC in the domain   50 per cent control over this facili-
            joint meeting with Sheikh Mohamed   diversify its Strategic Petroleum Re-  of energy security on the other hand,   Continued on next page... >>

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