Companies wishing to apply for crude import licenses must have registered capital of at least Yuan 50 million ($8.2 million) and bank credit lines of at least $20 million. They must also have access to crude receiving berths and storage facilities of at least 200,000 cubic meters, the ministry said in a circular on its website.
They must also have been involved in the crude import business in the last two years.
Only a handful of companies in China are allowed to import crude oil, most of which are state-owned.
The quota given to non state-owned companies is a fraction of China's overall crude imports, which has totaled 185.61 million mt over January to August this year.
