Caofeidian industrial zone, north China's Hebei Province, enjoys
a better chance of becoming a national oil strategic reserve base
following the discovery of the Nanpu oilfield, said an official
with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).
"Caofeidian is undoubtedly a good candidate as one of China's
national oil reserve bases. Although the final decision has yet to
be made, the die is already cast," Hu Wenrui, vice president of
CNPC, was quoted by Wednesday's China Business News as
saying.
Last Thursday, CNPC announced the discovery of the Nanpu
oilfield, which boasts a reserve of one billion tonnes.
The field, the largest discovery in China in four decades, is
located in the Nanpu block of CNPC's Jidong Oilfield in Caofeidian
of Tangshan City.
"Discovery of such a major oilfield offers great flexibility and
initiative for the country to plan and adjust its energy strategy,"
Hu said.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has
announced plans to establish a strategic oil reserve amounting to
the equivalent of 30 days of imports by 2010.
China has already named Dalian, Qingdao, Ningbo and Zhoushan to
be the first four oil strategic reserve bases. The one in Ningbo,
east China's Zhejiang Province, has begun storing oil.
(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2007)