The United Arab Emirates' national oil company, Adnoc, is keen on storing crude oil in India's maiden storage facility, reported PTI. The Arab country has also offered two-thirds of the oil to India for free, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday.

India is building underground storage facilities at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka, with a capacity to store about 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil to guard against global price shocks and supply disruptions. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or Adnoc, has decided to use half of Mangalore's 1.5 million-tonne facility, which would make up six million barrels of oil. However, Pradhan said that tax issues need to be sorted out before Adnoc can start using the storage facility.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday broke protocol and personally welcomed Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is on his first visit to India. The two leaders are set to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation between the countries on “regional and international issues of mutual concern”. The 54-year-old shiekh, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, is travelling with a high-profile delegation of ministers, businesspersons and economists, reported India Today.