First Oil Stock Data System To Be Set Up

China National Petroleum Corp’s (CNPC) Web site said Friday that China, the world’s No.2 oil consumer, is setting up its first official oil data tracking and release system to add transparency to the huge but often opaque market.

The Ministry of Commerce is working to establish a facility similar to that of the U.S. Department of Energy, to report weekly oil inventory data, domestic sales and changes in the domestic market, said the Web site. The report did not say when such a system would be put in place but said it had the full support from the government.

China publishes monthly oil production and trade data, but the State-dominated industry guards data of inventories and sales
Xinhua