The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) has extended approval for petroleum imports at the Adani-owned Krishnapatnam Port. The extension will allow the Port to continue importing petroleum by sea in accordance with operations permitted under the Navigational Safety at Ports Committee certificate.

The extension, which comes in view of the associated public interest in importing petroleum, is valid for a 19 months from August 24 to March 1, 2026.

“In exercise with the powers conferred under Rule16(1) of the Petroleum Rules, 2002, and in continuation of the notification of the Government of India, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways SO 3515(E) dated August 25, 2021, the Central government, in consideration of the necessity to import petroleum in public interest, hereby extends the notification for Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh (M/s Adani Krishnapatnam Port Ltd) for importing petroleum in India by sea in accordance with operations permitted in Navigational Safety at Ports Committee (NSPC) certificate number NSPC /041/2021 dated November 1, 2021 for the period from 25.08.2024 to 01.03.2026,” the notification by the Ministry said.

This port will help India refine more crude oil on its east coast and improve energy cost efficiency.

India depends on imports for over 80 per cent of its crude oil requirement.

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZL) in a notification to the bourses had said, in November, that it handled 36 MT (million tonnes) of cargo, driven by containers, which was up 21 per cent y-o-y. On a year-to-date basis (till November 2024), APSEZ handled 293.7 MT of total cargo, up 7 per cent y-o-y. This growth was supported by containers, which was up 19 per cent y-o-y, followed by liquids & gas, up 7 per cent y-o-y.