China's strategic oil reserve can last 9 days
China.org.cn/ chinagate.cn by Chen Boyuan, November 24, 2014 Adjust font size:
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has announced that China has completed its preliminary oil reserve project, with reserve centers it established in four countries altogether holding up 12.34 million tons of crude oil, equivalent to 91 million barrels.
However, that figure amounts to only nine days of consumption at present usage levels, far below the 90-day target suggested by the International Energy Agency (IEA). To meet the IEA's suggestion, China would need to have 540 to 600 million barrels in its reserves, according to industry experts.
The number announced by the NBS matches an unofficial figure offered by China's National Energy Administration some years ago, but was lower than Western analysts' estimation.
The NBS data is China's first official account of the country's strategic crude oil reserve, and meets a government promise to make its oil reserves more transparent.
