China diesel rationing may spread on sales glitch

BEIJING, March 19 (Reuters) - China's oil majors are rationing diesel in parts of the country to ensure supply to all vehicles due to shortages at private stations, causing a repeat of the long queues seen in November, sources and media said on Wednesday.

Some sales units of PetroChina (601857.SS) and Sinopec (600028.SS) were reported to have halted sales to independent dealers since last week in some parts of China, despite Beijing's order that they open the taps to the private sector, as refiners again struggled with surging crude costs.

Rationing emerged in southern Guangdong province, the suburb of Shanghai -- China's financial hub -- and some regions of the landlocked southwestern province of Yunnan, sources said.

With many private stations out of service in Guangdong, China's leading exporter by province, more drivers had to seek supply from stations owned by Sinopec (0386.HK) and PetroChina (0857.HK), the Southern Metropolis Daily said.

But Li Xiangming, deputy chief of Guangdong Economic and Trade Commission said there were no problems with fuel stocks in Guangdong, and it was premature to start any emergency plan.

"All vehicles piled up at fuel stations in the cities as private stations in peripheral regions were short of supply," Li was quoted by the Information Times, as saying.

"And diesel supplies on the highways are guaranteed by Chinese oil majors," Li added.

Limited fuel storage and transport capacity has forced Sinopec to occasionally ration fuel at some stations to make sure all vehicles get minimum supplies, the Southern Metropolis said.

"Each fill of diesel is not allowed to surpass volumes worth 100 yuan (or less than 20 litres) if paid in cash, though the volumes can be bigger for prepaid customers," said a staff at a Sinopec station in the east of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong.