China Races to Stockpile Cheap Oil, Expanding Strategic Reserves Amid Global Tensions

The first single-series crude oil storage tank of China's 10 million-ton refinery, Sinopec Qingdao Refining & Chemical Company, Qingdao City, Shandong Province, China on July 22, 2025. (Photo by Liu Qiang / CFoto / CFOTO via AFP)

China is in the midst of a massive oil stockpiling campaign that will add at least 169 million barrels of crude to its strategic reserves over the next year.

So far, 37 million barrels of storage capacity have been built at 11 sites across the country, with around half a million new barrels added to the reserves daily.

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by Eric Olander

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