China starts first national oil reserve base

BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) — China said Wednesday its first national oil reserve base has been filled with crude oil, one day after it announced the setting up of a national oil reserve center.

Located in Zhenhai, Zhejiang Province, east China, the base has a planned storage space of 5.2 million cubic meters, said the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s top economic planning agency.


The commission said the base, built by China’s largest oil refiner Sinopec, was accepted by the organization as up to standard upon a check after a one-year trial operation.

The completion and use of the base represented a milestone for China’s oil reserve system, said the commission.

The base is one of four of that China began to build from March,2004 onwards in coastal areas.

Xinhua