OREANDA-NEWS. July 08, 2014. China may be bolstering its emergency crude reserves as refiners in the world's second-largest oil consumer expanded commercial stockpiles to a record high last month.

Crude inventories rose 4 per cent from April, China Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals, published by Xinhua, said in a report. That is about 33.59 million tonnes, or 246.2 million barrels, the most in records going back to January 2010. Petrol supplies also swelled to a record, climbing 0.9 per cent to an estimated 7.6 million tonnes.

The mainland's commercial oil stockpiles can be channelled for strategic use, according to industry consultants including ICIS-C1 Energy in Shanghai and FGE in Singapore.

Refiners accelerated crude imports in April and May as the nation sought to increase its energy security with prices at a "fairly" high level, said Amy Sun, an oil analyst at ICIS-C1.

"We believe high commercial stocks may indicate refiners are potentially stocking feedstock for the government," she said. "China may be taking this opportunity to start filling strategic storage."

OGP said its inventory data excludes supplies in national reserves. Beijing does not publicly release strategic stockpile figures.

Brent crude, the benchmark grade for more than half the world's oil, gained 1.2 per cent in London trading in May and has advanced 4 per cent this month to about USD114 a barrel.

China, which trails only the United States in consumption, is also maximising its petrol production amid rising domestic demand and improved refining margins, Ye Manman, another ICIS-C1 analyst, said. Auto sales in May climbed 13.9 per cent from a year earlier to 1.59 million units, according to data from the state-backed China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.