China is rapidly expanding its oil reserves to secure its energy future and stabilise prices at home. New projects across 11 sites will store 169 million barrels of crude by 2026, enough to cover two weeks of imports for the world’s biggest oil buyer.
This expansion is part of Beijing’s broader plan to guard against geopolitical shocks, especially after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine upended energy flows. Analysts say it also helps absorb surplus supply, keeping global oil prices from crashing.
“China’s energy security drive has become more urgent this year,” says June Goh, analyst at Sparta Commodities. “Risks around Russia and Iran have pushed it to act faster.”
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If completed, China’s reserves could reach 800 million barrels by late 2025 and may eventually cover six months of imports. That scale would rival or even surpass Western emergency reserves, showing how Beijing is quietly preparing for a more volatile global energy market.
