China plans to start constructing 8 more strategic oil reserve bases this year, after the first batch of four have gone into operation in 2008, authoritative sources disclosed.

China started to construct its first batch of strategic oil reserve bases from 2003, altogether four in Zhenhai, Zhoushan, Huangdao and Dalian, respectively. Zhenhai and Zhoushan two strategic oil reserve bases have been in operation for nearly two years; while Huangdao and Dalian bases have gone into operation at the end of 2008. By November 2008, Huangdao base has had 40 percent of its oil tanks filled with crude oil.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China"s top economic planner, announced in 2008 that the plan for second-batch oil reserve base construction with combined storage capacity reaching 26.8 million cubic meters has been completed. And construction of 8 strategic oil reserve bases including Jinzhou is expected to start in 2009.

However, no official information concerning specific sites of the 8 bases in the second batch to be constructed has been disclosed.

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