SHIJIAZHUANG - The third-largest crude oil reserve base in China has begun operating in Hebei province in the north of the country.

The base, in the Caofeidian industrial zone owned by China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec Group, was put into operation Tuesday, according to the Caofeidian Industrial Zone Administration Commission.

Construction of the base began in May 2010. With a storage capacity of 3.2 million cubic meters, it contains 32 crude oil tanks with a volume of 100,000 cubic meters each, said a source with the commission.

Caofeidian, an island with booming development in the Bohai Bay in the city of Tangshan, boasts rich oil resources. It was put on the list of national pilot areas for the recyclable economy in October 2005.