China's largest crude oil commercial reserve project, located in Dongying, East China's Shandong province, started commercial operation on Thursday according to operator China National Offshore Oil Corp, China's top offshore oil and gas driller.

The Dongying crude oil commercial reserve project has received investment of up to 6.4 billion yuan ($930 million). Including 50 crude oil storage tanks, each with a storage capacity of 100,000 cubic meters, the project is capable of storing around 4.25 million tons of crude.

The project will further strengthen the country's crude supply capacity while promoting the rapid growth of energy trade and ensuring domestic energy security.

It will also rely on the refining capacity and public supporting facilities of Dongying Port and store offshore oil from the Bohai oilfields through the submarine pipeline and short-distance ocean carriers. It will further facilitate the country's domestic offshore oil to be stored, refined and transported at a more efficient rate.