Sinopec to hike oil stockpile this year

By Yu Tianyu and Si Tingting (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-03-10 18:21

Sinopec Corp, Asia's top refiner, will stockpile more commercial oil reserves this year, Cao Xianghong, Sinopec Corp senior consultant and former senior vice-president, said Tuesday on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress.

"We will stockpile more crude oil as well as finished products than last year," Cao said, but refused to reveal any details.

Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, said earlier that oil firms were encouraged to use spare storage capacity to increase commercial stockpiling of oil resources.

Collapsing oil prices have provided a good opportunity for China, which relies on overseas markets for half of its supply, to boost its oil reserves to meet future needs, analysts have said.
 
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