China’s Oil Reserves Are Close to Reaching Storage Capacity
- Reserves have been consistently above 100 days of net imports
- Figure includes government and commercial crude stockpiles
Beijing set a goal of increasing government stockpiles to hold at least 90 days of net imports, Bloomberg reported in April last year.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergChina’s oil stockpiles have risen to around 100 days worth of net imports, making it increasingly challenging to find extra storage tanks and facilities to hold supplies, two people with knowledge of supply levels said.
The build-up follows a push by Beijing to buy up crude for its reserves last year when prices crashed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The figure represents government and commercial inventories, said the people who asked not to be identified because the information isn’t public. The reserves fluctuate but have consistently been at or above 100 days worth of imports and rose as high as 120 days recently, one of the people said.