Sinopec's Guangdong branch will provide 200,000 tons of diesel oil to the cities in the Pearl River Delta in south China, in order to ease the supply shortage in this region.

Company sources said the first batch of 65,000 tons will arrive in Guangdong on Friday.

Diesel oil has been in severe shortage in the cities including Guangzhou and Foshan during the past week.

Many gas stations told Xinhua that they ran out of diesel oil for four or five days and could not find new supply.

A worker at a gas station near Guangzhou said the station stopped its diesel oil supply nearly one month ago and only sold gasoline.

In the city of Foshan, more than fifty vehicles were queuing up outside a gas station on Foping street for refueling.

A driver surnamed Liang said he visited six gas stations before finding this place for diesel oil refueling.

Insiders say that the main cause of the shortage lies in the heavier workload of many trucks when China's lunar new year in approaching, which expanded diesel oil consumption.

In addition, cold currents affected China's coasts during the past few days, making it difficult for oil tanks to pull in.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2006)