UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Can India build a strategic fuel system?

Q1. Among the strategic crude oil storage facilities already commissioned and operated by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited, which one has the largest design capacity?

  • A. The rock-cavern facility at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh
  • B. The rock-cavern facility at Mangaluru in Karnataka
  • C. The rock-cavern facility at Padur in Karnataka
  • D. The rock-cavern facility at Chandikhol in Odisha

Q2. With reference to the crude oil caverns commissioned under India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve programme, consider the following States: 1. Andhra Pradesh, which hosts the first ISPRL cavern to be commissioned 2. Karnataka, which hosts more than one commissioned ISPRL cavern 3. Odisha, which hosts a commissioned ISPRL crude cavern 4. Rajasthan, which hosts a commissioned ISPRL crude cavern Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Andhra Pradesh, which hosts the first ISPRL cavern to be commissioned
  2. Karnataka, which hosts more than one commissioned ISPRL cavern
  3. Odisha, which hosts a commissioned ISPRL crude cavern
  4. Rajasthan, which hosts a commissioned ISPRL crude cavern
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4
  • D. 1, 3 and 4

Q3. Consider the following statements comparing Phase-II of India's Strategic Petroleum Reserve programme with Phase-I: 1. The additional storage capacity sanctioned under Phase-II exceeds the total capacity created under Phase-I. 2. Unlike the Phase-I facilities, the Phase-II facilities were approved as commercial-cum-strategic facilities to be developed on public-private partnership mode. 3. Unlike Phase-I, no Phase-II facility is located in a State that already hosts a Phase-I facility. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The additional storage capacity sanctioned under Phase-II exceeds the total capacity created under Phase-I.
  2. Unlike the Phase-I facilities, the Phase-II facilities were approved as commercial-cum-strategic facilities to be developed on public-private partnership mode.
  3. Unlike Phase-I, no Phase-II facility is located in a State that already hosts a Phase-I facility.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q4. The establishment of an additional 6.5 MMT of underground rock-cavern storage at Chandikhol and Padur, along with dedicated Single Point Moorings for the two facilities, was approved by which one of the following?

  • A. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister
  • B. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister
  • C. The Public Investment Board of the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance
  • D. The Empowered Committee of Secretaries under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Q5. With reference to the decade-long strategic fuel reserve programme, estimated at about $42 billion, that the Government was reported in 2026 to be considering, consider the following elements: 1. Roughly 28 million tonnes of additional crude oil storage capacity 2. Roughly 9 million tonnes of LNG storage capacity 3. Roughly 4 million tonnes of LPG storage capacity 4. A stockholding target equal to about six months of crude oil demand Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. Roughly 28 million tonnes of additional crude oil storage capacity
  2. Roughly 9 million tonnes of LNG storage capacity
  3. Roughly 4 million tonnes of LPG storage capacity
  4. A stockholding target equal to about six months of crude oil demand
  • A. 1 and 4 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4
  • C. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q6. Of the roughly $42 billion estimated cost of the decade-long strategic fuel programme under consideration in 2026, the single largest share is accounted for by which one of the following?

  • A. Purchase of the crude oil, LNG and LPG needed to fill the facilities
  • B. Creation of the storage infrastructure for the new reserves
  • C. Recurring operation and maintenance expenditure on the reserve facilities
  • D. Viability gap funding payable to private developers of the facilities

Q7. With reference to India's energy import exposure as reported during the 2026 West Asia disruptions, consider the following: 1. About 90 per cent of India's LPG imports move on routes linked to the Strait of Hormuz. 2. About 50 per cent of India's LNG imports move on routes linked to the Strait of Hormuz. 3. About 40 per cent of India's crude oil imports move on routes linked to the Strait of Hormuz. 4. India meets about 60 per cent of its total crude oil requirement through imports. Which of the above is/are NOT correct?

  1. About 90 per cent of India's LPG imports move on routes linked to the Strait of Hormuz.
  2. About 50 per cent of India's LNG imports move on routes linked to the Strait of Hormuz.
  3. About 40 per cent of India's crude oil imports move on routes linked to the Strait of Hormuz.
  4. India meets about 60 per cent of its total crude oil requirement through imports.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 4 only

Q8. Following the 2026 West Asia supply disruptions, the Government asked which one of the following entities to build a new 1.75 MMT strategic crude oil reserve at Mangaluru and to fund it from its own balance sheet?

  • A. Indian Oil Corporation Limited
  • B. Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited
  • C. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited
  • D. Engineers India Limited

Q9. Full membership of the International Energy Agency carries an emergency stockholding obligation. That obligation requires a member country to hold oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of which one of the following?

  • A. The previous year's total domestic consumption of oil
  • B. The previous year's net oil imports
  • C. The current year's projected net oil imports
  • D. The previous year's crude oil refining throughput

Q10. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve of the United States, the world's largest emergency crude oil stockpile, is of the order of:

  • A. 95 million barrels
  • B. 250 million barrels
  • C. 730 million barrels
  • D. 1,500 million barrels

Q11. As of 2026, emergency stocks of LPG in India are held predominantly in which one of the following forms?

  • A. Dedicated underground caverns operated by Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited under a national LPG reserve programme
  • B. Working inventories of the oil marketing companies at their bottling plants, import terminals and depots
  • C. Cryogenic storage tanks maintained by GAIL (India) Limited as part of the national gas grid
  • D. Mounded bullet storages built and maintained by Engineers India Limited on behalf of the Government

Q12. In the context of India's Phase-II strategic petroleum reserves, the expression 'commercial-cum-strategic facility' denotes an arrangement in which:

  • A. the Government buys crude commercially from overseas national oil companies, stores it in its own caverns and sells it in the open market in normal times
  • B. crude owned by the oil marketing companies is stored free of cost in exchange for their refining capacity being placed at the Government's disposal
  • C. a developer owns, leases out and trades the stored crude commercially, while the Government retains the first right over that stock in an emergency
  • D. storage capacity at each cavern is shared in equal measure between the Union Government and the Government of the host State