xcel
01-07-2009, 10:43 PM
With the economic downturn sending oil prices below $40, the U.S. Department of Energy is jumping into the market alongside China. (http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4298192.html)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Chinese_storage_facility.jpgAndrew Moseman – Popular Mechanics – Jan. 6, 2009
A refinery/storage facility in Zhejiang Province in eastern China.
China’s doing exactly what we are doing... and has a ways to catch up. -- Ed.
The U.S. isn't the only global power importing more and more of its oil every year. China's explosion in population—and demand for oil—has turned a country that once satisfied its own petroleum needs into one that imports half its supply. China faces a problem familiar to Americans—dependence on foreign energy sources becoming a national security concern—and the Chinese government has responded by emulating the U.S. and building a huge reserve of petroleum. In the meantime, with crude prices low, the U.S. is looking to do the same and is setting its sights on expanding its 700 million-barrel supply.
In a rare public announcement by China's National Energy Administration, top official Zhang Guobao told a main Chinese newspaper last week that the government is using the low oil prices brought on by the economic slowdown to stock up. China has nearly completed a first wave of storage facilities capable of storing 102 million barrels of crude oil, Zhang told the People's Daily, and is in the planning stages for a second wave of bases that could store 170 million barrels more...
To fill to that capacity, the U.S. needs to add 25 million barrels this year. This is nowhere near China's rapid rate of stockpiling—energy analyst Paul Ting told the Wall Street Journal that he estimates China has added 25 million barrels to its reserves since August... While crude remains cheap, following China's lead and stockpiling U.S. reserves may be a smart idea: Currently the U.S. government holds just 58 days of import protection… http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4298192.html
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Chinese_storage_facility.jpgAndrew Moseman – Popular Mechanics – Jan. 6, 2009
A refinery/storage facility in Zhejiang Province in eastern China.
China’s doing exactly what we are doing... and has a ways to catch up. -- Ed.
The U.S. isn't the only global power importing more and more of its oil every year. China's explosion in population—and demand for oil—has turned a country that once satisfied its own petroleum needs into one that imports half its supply. China faces a problem familiar to Americans—dependence on foreign energy sources becoming a national security concern—and the Chinese government has responded by emulating the U.S. and building a huge reserve of petroleum. In the meantime, with crude prices low, the U.S. is looking to do the same and is setting its sights on expanding its 700 million-barrel supply.
In a rare public announcement by China's National Energy Administration, top official Zhang Guobao told a main Chinese newspaper last week that the government is using the low oil prices brought on by the economic slowdown to stock up. China has nearly completed a first wave of storage facilities capable of storing 102 million barrels of crude oil, Zhang told the People's Daily, and is in the planning stages for a second wave of bases that could store 170 million barrels more...
To fill to that capacity, the U.S. needs to add 25 million barrels this year. This is nowhere near China's rapid rate of stockpiling—energy analyst Paul Ting told the Wall Street Journal that he estimates China has added 25 million barrels to its reserves since August... While crude remains cheap, following China's lead and stockpiling U.S. reserves may be a smart idea: Currently the U.S. government holds just 58 days of import protection… http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4298192.html