A Call for China to Establish its OWN SPR

19 May 2004

From China Economic Net:

Petroleum is called the “blood of industry”. In the wake of the oil crisis in 1973, western countries established the IEA organization to counteract the supply cut and constructed the strategic petroleum reserve mechanism. Since 1993, China has become a net petroleum import country, and last year China imported 91.12 million tons of crude oil. With such huge petroleum consumption volume but without its own strategic petroleum reserve system, China’s petroleum security condition becomes increasingly grim.

Statistics shows that 62 percent of America’s oil consumption volume is imported and Japan hardly produces any petroleum. But the reality is that the petroleum security condition of these two countries is better off than that of China. The strategic petroleum reserve in the US is adequate to last for 90 days and even to 118 days at best. The reserve of Japan is enough to last for 169 days.

At present, China has yet to establish the strategic petroleum reserve mechanism, and the meager reserve volume of China's petroleum and petrol-chemical enterprises could only last for 7 days’ supply. Under the current international circumstance, the petroleum security situation faced by China is very serious and an petroleum reserve system must be established to ensure China’s petroleum security.

Related: The Chinese Government is under criticism for an eletricity and coal shortage.