Others News
- Sinopec sets up oil reserve office
Date: 19-Jul-2007 Sources: (Shenzhen Daily)
SINOPEC Group, parent of Hong Kong and Shanghai-listed Sinopec Corp., has formalized the firm's control of China's fledgling strategic oil stockpile by setting up an office to manage its oil storage centers and some of the government's, industry sources said yesterday.
The Sinopec Crude Reserve Center was formed about a month ago to manage the financing of oil purchases and monitor oil flows in and out of the storage centers, industry officials said.
The move highlights the goal of Sinopec, Asia's largest refiner, to raise its global trading profile, leveraging on strong demand growth from the world's second-largest consumer after the United States.
China, which now imports more than 45 percent its crude requirements, is seeking to build a buffer to cope with supply disruptions by amassing 100 million barrels of crude reserves, or about 30 days of imports at current rates, by 2008 .
'It's a very smart move by Sinopec, using its status as a State oil company to realize its trading goals. It's easy for them to convince the government as the oil managed by them can be easily converted to government stocks,'said a Beijing-based executive with a European trading house.
The sources did not specify the storages that fall under the management of this new entity, but one source said China's first strategic tanks in eastern China's Ningbo, now rented by Sinopec, were part of them.
Sponsor Results:
