Trading of domestic crude oil futures enters substantive stage

A Singaporean oil tanker unloads crude oil at Dalian Port in Liaoning province June 19. [Photo/dlxww.com]

Dalian Port finished unloading the first tanker with futures crude oil June 21, marking the trading of yuan-denominated crude oil futures entering a substantive stage.

China is the biggest oil importer in the world and the second-biggest oil consuming country. It launched trading of yuan-denominated crude oil futures contracts at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange March 26, the first futures for overseas investors listed on the Chinese mainland.

The move is expected to fill the vacuum created by the lack of international crude oil futures in Asia and therefore will strengthen China's influence in the pricing of global crude oil.

As the designated port for the first futures crude oil, Dalian Port boasts China’s largest storage capacity for crude oil, product oil and liquid chemical products at 200 million cubic meters. Nearly 70 percent of crude oil in the northeastern area is transported through the port.

The No 22 berth at the oil dock is the only one nationwide that can hold a tanker with 45 metric tons of oil. The world’s largest crude oil tanker, TI Europe, was unloaded at the berth March 1, 2017.