The fourth International Petroleum and Natural Gas Enterprises Conference is held in Zhoushan on Nov 11. [Photo/zhoushan.cn]

The fourth International Petroleum and Natural Gas Enterprises Conference was held in Zhoushan on Nov 11 to explore the innovation and transformation of the oil and natural gas industry.

The conference was attended by more than 280 participants, including senior executives from Exxon Mobil, BP, and Shell, both online and offline.

Wang Shouwen, vice-minister of commerce, said at the conference that China has seen a significant improvement in the status of its oil and natural gas sector as consumption and import volume has been continuously increasing in recent years.

China will safeguard the stability of the global energy market and carry out comprehensive international cooperation, according to Wang.

As one of the provinces with the highest degree of opening-up to the outside world and the fastest development in China, Zhejiang has been taking the lead in energy consumption in the country.

"Since the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone started operating in 2017, the development of the oil and natural gas industry in the province has been picking up," noted Zhu Congjiu, vice-governor of Zhejiang.

Zhejiang FTZ has made remarkable achievements in facilitating the trade in oil and natural gas and improving its capacity in bunker oil supply, oil refining, liquefied natural gas receiving, and oil product storage.

The Zhejiang FTZ service center, arbitration center, and resolution center have also been established in Zhoushan to offer services including investment promotion and commercial legal services.

Michael Muller, member of the Blobal Board of Vitol Group, spoke of the combination of investment in new fuels and carbon removal initiative in his video speech.

Muller said he believes that the goals proposed at the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change cannot be realized without this combination.