After nearly six months of test operations, the National Oil Reserve Centre has finished its appraisal and recruitment program for employees, and is expected to begin official operations soon.

An official with the Bureau of Energy, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said that plans to establish an oil reserve centre were made at the end of last year. However the center has been run in test mode for nearly for nearly six months.

Qian Jianqiang, Managing Director of www.oilgas.com.cn, noted that the centre did not have large reserves of oil because of rocketing oil prices; such a move in this climate could have a negative impact on China's international image. Reports from foreign news agencies say that it is not clear whether the employees who are running the center, currently on loan, will become registered members when it officially begins operation. It thought that high-ranking posts at the centre will be filled by officials from the Bureau of Energy, NDRC.

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