PetroChina International (Singapore) Pte Ltd is planning to become the leading oil and gas operation center in the Asia-Pacific region by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), with trade volume reaching 200 million metric tons by 2020.

Taking advantage of the Belt and Road Initiative, the company has decided to speed up construction of its sales network in Singapore, including petrol stations and oil storage.

The company played a significant role to ensure sufficient oil and gas supply for PetroChina's domestic market through optimization of the allocation of resources.

It imported 26.12 million tons of crude oil for Petro-China's domestic refineries in 2017, while exporting 8.33 million tons of refined oil products for PetroChina's refineries, making itself a major oil import supplier in countries including Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia.

The company is also negotiating with Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia for LNG purchases, aiming to ensure LNG supply, especially in the winter when the clean fuel is in short supply.

It imported some 3.77 million tons of LNG in 2017, while China imported some 33 million tons of LNG in total during the January-November period.

The country overtook South Korea to become the world's second-largest LNG importer in 2017, as the country's demand for natural gas continues rising sharply, according to data compiled by S&P Global Platts.

China, which imported more than 25 million tons of LNG in 2016, is expected to import up to 50 million metric tons of LNG this year, whereas the South Korean LNG demand will remain at less than 40 million tons, according to Marc Howson, director of the LNG market of S&P Global Platts.

Li Li, energy research director at energy consulting firm ICIS China, said Petro-China's Singapore branch has played a significant role in overseas procurements.

The Singapore-based petroleum storage company Universal Terminal, which China's State oil giant Petro-China has a stake in, is also operating the largest commercial oil storage complex in Asia.

Located on Jurong Island in Singapore, the terminal has a capacity to store 2,330,000 cubic meters of oil with 78 storage tanks and 15 docks.

According to K Shanmugam, minister for home affairs and minister for law in Singapore, China's investment in Singapore accounts for one-third of China's total investment in countries and regions participating in the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Investment made by Singapore in China accounts for 85 percent of the investment made by economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative," he said.