Photo: news.cnpc.com.cn

China has finished the initial construction of its strategic oil reserves of 110 million barrels, and will gradually raise the volume to 500 million barrels, or an equivalent to 90 days of oil imports, by 2020, news portal sina.com.cn reported Saturday.

By then, China will boast the world's second largest oil stockpile, second only to the US, which currently has oil reserves of 727 million barrels. China is expected to finish its second phase of oil reserves buildup this year, increasing the volume to 274 million barrels, the report said.

The report cited a Deutsche Bank oil analyst Soozhana Choi in Singapore as saying that China's strategic oil reserves buildup would be a significant event in the international oil market this year or even this decade.

BP Plc said in its newly published Energy Outlook 2030 that oil demand is likely to rise by 16 million barrels per day over the next 20 years, with China accounting for more than 8 million barrels.

Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs projected that China will overtake the US to become the world's biggest oil importer within a year and a half.