On the fast track

A great deal of oil products cannot do without a fully equipped storage and transportation base, and Zhoushan is China's biggest. Its capacity is 28.79 million cubic meters.

The "One Center and Three Bases Demonstration Zone" consists of the Trading Center of International Oil Products and the bases of international petrochemical, international maritime services, and international oil product storage. It also has internationalized renminbi for cross-border trade in bulk commodities. This all gives the Zhejiang FTZ an advantage to develop the whole industrial chain. 

In February, Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company, signed a memorandum with the Zhoushan city government to invest in the Zhejiang Refining-Chemical Integration Project. Located on Yushan Island, the project is planned to start production this year with 20 million tons refined in the first phase. 

Besides accelerating oil industry chain layout in the region, Zhejiang FTZ is creating a friendly environment for businesses and providing global oil companies with high-quality and efficient service.

It took Zhang Hui, from Qinhuangdao, Hebei province two hours and six minutes to get his company registered at Zhejiang FTZ General Service Hall. This included business registration, official seals and invoices, opening a bank account and other processes. 

According to the local customs, the time needed to enter and exit the port was controlled at 33.8 hours and 2.3 hours respectively. Both are faster than the average time of clearance at the customs in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province.

Since the zone's establishment, there are 367 foreign companies set up in Zhejiang FTZ with a contractual investment of $5.05 billion and $410 million of pay-in investment. A large number of internationally renowned oil companies such as Saudi Aramco, BP, Total, Glencore and Trafigura Group have set up business there.