Shanghai's top pricing body yesterday said the city has enough oil reserved and pledged to take action to ease shortages at gas stations across the city.

Unfounded rumors have said that the price of oil and gas will rise, sparking many drivers to queue at gas stations for lengthy periods in order to save money. This has caused shortages at some stations.

The Shanghai Economic Committee said the situation may improve next month, Jiefang Daily reported today, citing the committee's spokesman.

The committee has already asked Shanghai branches of China Petroleum & Chemical Corp, PetroChina and China National Offshore Oil Corp, the nation's three main oil-producers, to ask for bigger quotas for the city, it said

The headquarters of China Petroleum & Chemical, known as Sinopec, the country's biggest oil refiner, agreed to supply an extra 20,000 tons of diesel oil to Shanghai, the report said.

Meanwhile, the city will increase the amount of oil product purchases to prepare for the peak energy consumption period in the summer, the report added.

Sinopec and PetroChina's Shanghai branches have 111,400 tons of oil reserves, which is more than the warning level, the report said, without providing further details.

The committee will also require district subordinates and traffic police departments to report on fuel supplies every day.

Automobiles can only refuel for a short time at gas stations along roads with heavy traffic to prevent long queues of vehicles, the report said.

The committee will soon release an electronic map for gas stations in Shanghai. The map will also give details on what types of fuel are available at these stations, the report added.

(Shanghai Daily May 28, 2008)