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Private oil firms reserve crude for future

By Yu Tianyu (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-12-19 18:21

Over 200 million tons of idle oil reserve capacity in some of China's private oil enterprises will be utilized in the future, said an official from the Petroleum Circulation Committee under China General Chamber of Commerce.

Related readings:  China expects oil reserve of 108b tons  National center for oil reserves established  Energy: JV to spend 7b yuan on oil reserve  China to put into use two more oil reserve bases: official

Zhao Youshan, committee director, told Dow Jones Newswires that the committee has applied to join the State strategic oil reserve base program in a bid to further expand the country's oil reserves under the current low oil price.

If approved, oil reserves in Chinese private oil enterprises will be used, Zhao said.

Zhao said the present time is a good opportunity for China to boost its strategic petroleum reserves.

Zhao suggested that the government give private oil enterprises more opportunities to participate in the State strategic oil reserve so as not to waste resources.

China last year established a center to manage its strategic oil reserves. The center is in charge of stockpiling crude and releasing reserves, as well as monitoring oil supply and demand on the domestic and international markets.

The authorities have also started planning the second phase of its strategic oil reserves. Sources said this will include a number of bases in the western regions, including Lanzhou in Gansu province.

The volume of China's national oil reserves will increase to a level equivalent to three months of imports, said the National Development and Reform Commission.

PetroChina and Sinopec have all started building up their commercial oil reserves. To that effect, Asia's top refiner Sinopec has set up the Sinopec Commercial Crude Reserve Center to manage its oil storage.