The China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province handled around 27.59 million metric tons of oil in the first quarter of the year, up 52.89 percent year-on-year.

The growth can be attributed to plummeting global oil prices and a boom in the oil tank leasing business in coastal areas. Many oil tanks in the Zhejiang FTZ have already been leased out.

The Aoshan Island oil depot of Sinochem Xingzhong Oil Staging (Zhoushan) Co, the nation's largest commercial oil storage and transportation company, has been receiving oil tankers every day over the past three months. Its oil reserves in Q1 increased by 600,000 tons over the same period last year.