China reveals size of strategic oil reserve for first time

The National Bureau of Statistics revealed the official estimate of its strategic petroleum reserves for the first time yesterday, taking steps to improve transparency in its energy development after calls from the global community.

The announcement - four days after President Xi Jinping promised to release figures on oil reserves in a more comprehensive and timely manner - said the reserves, held at four locations, totalled 12.43 million tonnes of crude oil, or about 91 million barrels.

The four reserve bases are in Zhoushan (3.98 million tonnes), Zhenhai (3.78 million tonnes), Huangdao (2.5 million tonnes) and Dalian (2.17 million tonnes).

The stockpile amounts to roughly nine days' consumption, far below the international standard of reserving enough to cover three months of imports. But the figure only accounts for the first phase of a plan to build petroleum reserves, and China is expected to build up more in the coming years.

China has withheld its oil data in the past, reasoning it would suffer a price disadvantage were the figures released. But in recent months it has become more cooperative about its stockpile.

"We've always had some kind of government customs data for crude oil, and China became the biggest oil importer last year, so the market wasn't operating in the dark," said Simon Powell, head of sustainable research at CLSA.

"But this new development will enable markets to gain clarity on what China intends to do and how quickly it intends to do it."