Zhoushan FTZ becoming global player in oil and gas trade

A pair of parallel pipelines in white and green stretch from the shore of Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province, where night and day they pump oil, water and marine fuel onto ships waiting just off the coast.

It has become a common scene at the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, which since its establishment three years ago, has grown to become the country's largest refueling port.

The Zhejiang FTZ was established on April 1 in 2017 in Zhoushan and its outlying islands.

As the only FTZ in China with anchorages at sea, Zhejiang FTZ is expected to become a model for "opening-up at sea" in eastern China.

In addition, it is to become a forerunner for liberalization in international trade in bulk commodities and a base for global resource allocation.

Zhoushan Port, situated where the Yangtze River meets China's eastern coastline, is one of the busiest container ports in the world due to its deep waters, with more than 1 billion metric tons of cargo handled annually.

Despite this, before the FTZ was established, the port did little trade in marine fuels with vessels preferring to fuel up in Singapore.

In 2016, Zhoushan only supplied 1.06 million tons of bonded marine fuel, while Singapore provided 48.6 million tons that same year.

After the Zhejiang FTZ was established, new measures, such as allowing foreign vessels to refuel several times during their voyages, were rolled out.

These measures greatly improved the supply of bonded marine fuel in Zhoushan.

In 2019, it supplied 4.1 million tons of bonded marine fuel, accounting for 40 percent of the country's total and making Zhoushan the largest refuelling port in China, ranking eighth among the top 10 globally.

Zhoushan plans to supply 7 million tons in 2020, with a long-term goal of 20 million tons per year. It also plans to achieve three 100-million-ton targets combined for reserve capacity, refining capacity and trading capacity.

In line with government blueprints, the Zhoushan-based FTZ is expected to further promote the construction of an international oil and gas trading center, an international oil and gas storage and transportation base, an international petrochemical industry base, an international maritime service base and a demonstration zone for yuan internationalization.

The Zhejiang International Oil and Gas Trading Center was opened last year.

In addition, the zone will cooperate with the Shanghai Futures Exchange to launch physical trading on crude oil, refined oil products and fuel oil.

Clean-energy projects in the FTZ are also developing. The phase-one of ENN Zhoushan liquefied natural gas terminal, China's first private LNG project, was completed smoothly.

The terminal will become an important source of natural gas for Zhejiang province.

Separately, innovative measures in the zone have brought huge benefits and convenience.

Last year, a 57,000-ton Marshall Islands cargo vessel came into Zhoushan Port for marine service. It only took 4.5 hours for the ship to load a series of supplies including food, materials and marine fuel.

"It is the most convenient and lowest-cost choice to accept comprehensive marine service in outer anchorage," said Chen Kai, general manager of Zhoushan HaihuiYizhou Shipping Agency.

In addition, pilotage fee and tonnage tax can be waived for cargoes that choose to receive one-stop comprehensive maritime services in outer anchorage. The two combined could effectively save time and cost for clients.

These kinds of reforms are regarded as valuable innovative experiences and could be promoted in other areas nationwide. According to official data, Zhejiang FTZ has made 116 innovative achievements and cases, 27 of which have been promoted to other areas in China.

The FTZ is now focusing on creating a good environment by improving all kinds of service efficiency.

Enterprise registration is one of the most common businesses in the FTZ. "Those who wish to register a company used to take one week to go through the process," said Huang Gongjie, an official in charge of company registration in the market supervision administration of Zhoushan.

But now, authorities have implemented paperless enterprise registration. Those who wish to register a company can complete the application within 10 minutes. The entire process can normally be completed in four hours.

The improving business environment has made many enterprises from home and overseas look to the FTZ. State-owned oil refining group China Petroleum & Chemical Corp and China National Offshore Oil Corp have set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in the FTZ.

International energy giants such as Vitol, Trafigura, Glencore and BP have also conducted extensive cooperation with the zone.

Zhejiang FTZ has attracted more than 6,000 oil and gas enterprises, which is 9.2 times as many as before the area was established. It is the largest gathering of oil and gas enterprises in China.