The National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday the first phase of an oil reserve project was completed and in service with enough oil on hand for nine days of energy needs. The first phase consists of four basins and is part of an oil reserve program launched in 2004 . The government said the program is part of a way to offset oil supply risks and reduce the impact to fluctuating energy prices globally. The petroleum reserve is modeled after the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve, which holds more than 700 million barrels in spare capacity in salt caverns along the southern Gulf Coast. In October, the Wall Street Journal reported state-run China National Petroleum Corp. was taking advantage of the bear market for crude oil by buying up dozens of cargoes of crude oil to stock its fledgling strategic […]