To: Rocket Red who wrote (32802 ) 11/27/2004 8:39:43 PM From: Taikun Respond to of 39344 China's SPR: 90 days imports: (15.4m tons by 2010-WSJ) This is about 113m barrels, Bush ordered the US spr filled to 700m barrels. The key is whether this will trigger more SPRs around the world (Japan sure wants to build them!) China expected to establish strategic oil reserves next year Last Updated(Beijing Time):2004-11-17 11:08 The International Energy Agency (IEA) expects China to start establishing strategic oil stocks next year to provide a stable supply of petroleum to the domestic market. "My understanding is China was using the year 2004 to actually build the tanks, and it is prepared to fill them progressively starting the year 2005," Claude Mandil, executive director of the Paris-based energy watchdog said Tuesday. Mandil said that China, which is not a member of the IEA, had agreed to cooperate with the agency in case it had to use the reserves. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recommended that its members hold reserves equal to at least 90 days of net imports. Japan and South Korea, which are members of the OECD, already have strategic oil reserves. Mandil said non-OECD Asian countries, particularly China and India, needed them as well. India has also decided to build reserves. He said the IEA had held a series of talks with the Chinese Government on strategic oil stockpiling as well as other energy issues, including China's efforts to liberalize its electric power industry. Mandil said China should purchase oil for its strategic reserves "step by step" because a large purchases over the short term could push up global crude prices. Such a move also would impose a heavy financial burden on China, he said. "China should start building stocks when it thinks prices have gone down to low enough levels ... what I can say is due to the fundamentals, oil prices should go down again in the coming months," Mandil said. Mandil said he expected China to take several years to raise its stock levels to 90 days of net imports. According to the IEA's latest outlook, China's oil imports should rise to 10 million barrels a day by 2030 from about two million barrels a day now. Source:Shenzhen Daily