By KUNA
Tokyo : Another two strategic oil reserve bases will soon be put into use in east China, the state-owned China Daily reported Monday, citing a senior official from the nation’s top economic planning agency.
“Two oil reserve bases in Huangdao of Shandong Province and Dalian of Liaoning Province are near completion,” Zhang Guobao, vice minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), has said, according to the daily.
Oil-filling at the two bases is worthwhile in terms of oil prices, and the timings have been well chosen to prevent major impact on international oil price, the official said, according to the daily.
The two oil reserve bases located in Zhejiang Province, also east China, have been put in operation, with a storage space of 5.2 million cubic meters.
China is the world’s second-largest oil consumer after the US. The country imported 145 million tons of crude and 36 million tons of refined oil last year, figures from the General Administration of Customs showed.
China started its strategic oil reserve base program in 2004 in coastal areas to respond to sudden incidents, prevent supply disruption hazards, and safeguard the nation’s energy security.
By the year 2010, China will have a strategic oil reserve equivalent to 30 days of imported oil, or about 10-12 million tons, the NDRC has said.