ONGC, India's top oil explorer, last ⁠month announced plans to build the strategic petroleum reserve at ​Mangaluru in Karnataka state, where its Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals subsidiary ​operates a refinery with capacity of 300,000 barrels per day. The Union Government is expanding its Strategic Petroleum Reserve capacity with private participation. These ‌storage ⁠facilities are managed by the government-owned Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL). MRPL has already leased half of the 1.5 million ton Mangaluru SPR. India plans to build about 4 million ​tons of strategic ⁠storage at Chandikhol in the eastern state of Odisha and a new 2.5 million ton facility at Padur in southern India in collaboration with ⁠private ​companies.