Guangdong plans oil reserve base

Guangdong province is applying to central administrations to build a local strategic and commercial oil reserve base, Economic Observer reported (in Chinese). According to officials from the Guangdong Economic and Trading Commission, the oil reservation mechanism would change the current situation of market supply being decided by refiners alone. The provincial government has closely monitored PetroChina and Sinopec's oil storage to insure the reserves stay above a threshold of more than five days' consumption. The recent high global oil prices have led to fuel shortages in pockets of the country as refineries have shut down operations, citing profit concerns.