Oil supply to return to normal soon

CHINA’S oil supply would soon be back to normal after the government took measures to boost output and crack down on hoarding and illegal price hikes, domestic media said yesterday.

Top Chinese oil producers PetroChina and Sinopec have been ordered to expand the supply of crude to small refineries, the Shanghai Securities News reported, citing China’s top economic planning agency. Experts estimated that this would help boost output of local refineries across the country by at least 20 percent, the report said.

Economic planner fines 6 petrol stations

THE country’s top economic planner said yesterday it fined six independent petrol service stations that raised diesel prices above the State-set level, as a way to defend State prices and curb speculation during a nationwide fuel shortage.

The National Development and Reform Commission said the service stations raised diesel prices by 10-30 percent to take profits. No State-owned service stations were mentioned in the statement. The stations were located in the provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, Hebei, Shaanxi, Hunan and the region of Ningxia.