BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua/China Daily)-- Economic planners have ruled out the possibility of an oil crisis in China, days after an oil shortage boxed up the booming Guangdong Province.

    Li Yang, a senior official at the National Development and Reform Commission, said that China's current production, consumption, stockpiles, imports and exports of oil products are well balanced in general, and sufficient supply has been guaranteed.

    During a weekend interview with Xinhua, Li ruled out the possibility of an oil products crisis in the country, saying the recent insufficient supply in some parts of southern China resulted from natural disasters and an international oil price hike.

    "The government has taken urgent measures, and the insufficient supply problem in the province will soon be alleviated," Li said.

    Local sources in Guangdong Province said that drivers are still queuing to fill up with gasoline. The municipal government of Shenzhen decided to construct 24 new filling stations to give drivers better access to fuel.

    Li's commission mainly attributed the oil shortage in Guangdong to an inefficient transportation system, which has been partly broken because of a typhoon and rainstorms.

    Because of the shortage, some petrol stations increased the price of fuel, which should be under the control of Li's commission. These wrongdoings intensified feelings among the public that an oil crisis is imminent.

    A price supervision official with Li's commission told China Daily that the central government has already worked side by side with local market watchdogs to stop oil price hikes in black markets.

    Since last Wednesday, the China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec) and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), China's two oil giants, have delivered 80,000 to 90,000 tons of oil products daily to Guangdong. Li said the amount has exceeded the regular consumption level in the province.

    Li also said since the beginning of this year China's oil products market has been stable in general and the demand for oil products can be met.

    CNPC supply increase

    CNPC, China's largest oil and gas producer, has reported rapid development of its crude oil production in recent years.

    The corporation produced 65.45 million tons of crude oil in the first six months of this year, a 3.9 per cent year-on-year increase.

    In view of soaring domestic oil demand, CNPC adjusted its strategy this year for guaranteeing the stable output at old oil fields in eastern China, while making rapid developments in terms of exploitation and production in newly developed oil fields in western China.

    CNPC's newly discovered and exploited oil fields in western China have become a substitute for old ones. Enditem