The IPEC 2022 is held in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province from Aug 30 to 31. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Zhejiang Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has been propelling the development of the oil and gas industry in Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province, turning it into the fifth largest bunkering port in the world. 

According to the "2021 Global Bunker Rankings by Port" released at the International Petroleum and Natural Gas Enterprises Conference (IPEC) 2022 on Aug 30, Zhoushan Port jumped five spots in the last four years to fifth place, following the ports of Singapore, Rotterdam, Fujairah and Hong Kong, with a bonded oil supply volume of 5.52 million metric tons last year. 

Since the establishment of a section of the Zhejiang FTZ in Zhoushan and its outlying islands, the Zhoushan area of the Zhejiang FTZ has been building a complete oil and gas industrial chain with "one center, three bases and one demonstration zone". 

Yushan Island in Zhoushan, with a population of just a few hundred residents, will be transformed into a green petrochemical base with an estimated annual oil refining capacity of 40 million tons. After its second phase was completed at the end of 2021, the base became the largest chemical refining integration project in the country. 

In 2021, the base processed 26.52 million tons of crude oil, and Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co Ltd, the operator and investor of the base, generated 139 billion yuan in revenue.

The reforms promoted in the Zhoushan area also attracted fuel oil suppliers and traders. 

"The efforts that Zhoushan has made over the past five years, especially in terms of bonded oil supply services, have helped improve our working efficiency and reduce our cost," said Tang Jun, chief of the Shanghai Representative Office of Peninsula Petroleum. 

Due to the innovative reforms, over the past five years, more than 35,000 enterprises have registered in Zhoushan, over 9,300 of which are related to oil products. 

Since 2017, the IPEC has served as a platform for cooperation in the global oil industry. This year's conference was held in Zhoushan from Aug 30 to 31, which was attended by more than 300 managers of energy-related enterprises.

Zhoushan Port in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province. [Photo by Yao Feng for chinadaily.com.cn]