A national strategic petroleum storage will land in Wanzhou, Chongqing, which local experts believe is helpful for improving China's domestic petroleum safety.

Various local media reports that Sichuan Material Reserves Administrative Bureau has signed an investment agreement with Wanzhou District Government on building a national strategic petroleum storage in Wanzhou. Liu Shuxin, director of SMRAB, says that the parties chose Wanzhou mainly because of the special position of the area that boasts an advantageous geographic location, good transportation and sustainable resources.

This is China's first strategic petroleum storage set up in the southwestern part of the country. The country's first four strategic petroleum storages are reportedly all located in the coastal areas of eastern China.

China's petroleum storage base construction consists of three phases. About 10 million tons to 20 million tons of petroleum are expected to be on reserve in the first phase, about 28 million tons in the second phase and 28 million tons in the third phase. The four storage stations for the first phase are said to be located in Zhenhai, Zhoushan, Dalian and Huangdao, respectively. The location of the storage for the second phase which features much higher reserves has not been disclosed.