CNPC this year has already put 10 tanks, including those in Xiamen (Fujian), Ji’nan (Shandong) and Ya’an (Sichuan), into operation. Its northern company plans to have five tanks enter operation within the year and begin construction of another five.
In southwestern Chongqing, CNPC is upgrading two large tanks from a storage capacity of 220,000 cubic meters to 300,000 cubic meters and it is expected that these tanks will be able to sustain Chongqing’s supply till 2015.
To strengthen its energy security, in recent years China has focused more on energy reserves. It has built eight state strategic petroleum storage tanks and the state-run oil firms are also building up their commercial reserves at increasing speed.
Currently, China’s crude oil storage capacity can only sustain 30 days of consumption, far less than the IEA’s 90-day standard.
The new crude oil tanks will contain three million cubic meters of storage capacity, able to store 1.8 million tons of oil and handle an annual turnover of 7.2 million tons.