The nation plans to build emergency oil storage tanks in its northeast industrial base to enhance energy security, a senior energy official told reporters yesterday.

The tanks are part of the second phase of China's construction of emergency oil stockpiles, said Zhang Guobao, chief of the National Energy Administration.

As its energy demand grows, China has made a multi-phase plan to build a number of oil reserves. It has completed the first-phase construction, which is composed of four oil reserve bases, and has started the second-phase construction last month, Zhang, also vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, said in September.