BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- China had 31.97 million tonnes of national oil reserves at the start of 2016, said a statement by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Friday.
The oil was at eight strategic storage bases, including those in Zhoushan, Zhenhai, Dalian, Huangdao, Dushanzi, Lanzhou, Tianjin, as well as some corporate facilities.
Based on oil data released by CNPC Economics & Technology Research Institute, the reserves are equivalent to 36 days of China's oil imports, far below the standard stockpile level in countries like the United States and Japan.
China's state strategic oil reserve base program was launched in 2004 to offset oil supply risks and reduce the impact of fluctuating energy prices worldwide on the domestic market for refined oil.