The reserve, located in eastern China's Ningbo city, is the first of four planned strategic petroleum reserves. (File Photo)   Jan.30 - The State Development and Reform Commission on Monday said China's first strategic petroleum reserve has been filled with oil and become operational.

 

The reserve, located in eastern China's Ningbo city, is the first of four planned strategic petroleum reserves. The other three reserves are expected to be completed by 2008. The commission says the implementation of the petroleum reserve plans is going well.

 

Zhu Hongren, an official from the State Development and Reform Commission, on Monday said China started building its strategic petroleum reserves later than developed countries. He also said the scale of the reserves is relatively small.

 

He pointed out that the current capacity for petroleum production is inadequate, because of China's massive land area and huge population.

 

Analysts have said a strategic reserve system must be established to ensure China's oil security.

 

China started considering building petroleum strategic reserves in 1993 and the project was officially approved in 2004. More than 100 billion yuan (about US$13 billion) is expected to be spent building the reserves over 15 years.

 

Based on official statistics, China's crude oil imports hit a record high of 145.18 million tons last year. 36.38 million tons of refined oil products were imported. At present, China is the world's third largest importer of oil, behind the United States and Japan. Meanwhile, China is second only to the United States in terms of oil consumption.