China releases oil for quake aid

China has released another 49,000 barrels of fuel from its strategic petroleum reserve to ensure adequate supplies in earthquake areas, the government said Friday.

The fuel released on Wednesday and Thursday brings the amount of oil distributed from the national reserve to disaster areas to 169,365 barrels, the Cabinet’s National Development and Reform Commission said.

The announcement on the agency’s Web site included a photo of railway tanker cars loaded with fuel bound for Sichuan province, where the May 12 quake wrecked filling stations and fuel-distribution networks.

Much of China already was facing chronic fuel shortages when the disaster hit.

AP