The State Council has recently issued the Official Reply on Several Measures in Support of the Open Development of the Whole Industry Chain for Oil and Gas in the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (the "Reply").
The Official Replay states that the Several Measures in Support of the Open Development of the Whole Industry Chain for Oil and Gas in the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (the "Several Measures") has been approved and must be earnestly implemented. The Several Measures outline 26 initiatives in 11 aspects, including introducing international strategic investors for oil product trade and accelerating the transformation and upgrading of petrochemical and refining-chemical industries. The Several Measures call for active efforts to integrate various resources, give play to the role of global well-known exchanges, introduce experienced exchanges in New York, London, Singapore, Dubai and other metropolises as strategic investors, and attract resources of international oil product traders. Meanwhile, the Several Measures make it clear that the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) is supported in conducting the refined oil product export business to a proper extent and allowing qualified refining-chemical enterprises within the Zhejiang FTZ to explore the export of refined oil byproducts for non-state trading under which the export volume will be appropriately determined on a yearly basis.