AFTER over a decade of demands from Shekou residents and deputies of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress, the Dongjiaotou oil and gas depot in Shekou had most of its flammable stock removed.

    The depot stored things like diesel, petroleum and liquefied petroleum for several local firms.

    The recent move is partly linked to the deadly blasts in Tianjin that killed at least 158 Aug. 12. It was also spurred by a decade of complaints from the depot’s surrounding residential estates.

    According to the Daily Sunshine yesterday, 8.5 tons of natural gas was emptied into barrels belonging to Shennan Gas on Aug. 25. Sinopec followed suit, moving 9,400 tons of petrol materials three days later.

    Shenyan Gas reduced its gas storage from 1,650 tons down to 1,100 tons. Shenyan is currently supplying 30 percent of the liquefied gas consumed by nearby residents.

    The company decided to reduce the amount of gas stored at the site slowly, with a plan to halt operation completely before the end of October.

    The removal and relocation were carried out Aug. 21 by a specialist team in Nanshan District.

    The relocation of the Dongjiaotou oil and gas depot is part of a citywide inspection of the storage of oil, gas and dangerous chemicals.

    The Qingshuihe oil depot in Luohu District was closed and six tankers were emptied last week. A large-scale liquefied petroleum gas storage and distribution station was located in the Qingshuihe oil depot area. In August 1993, an explosion in Qingshuihe claimed 15 lives and seriously injured 100 people. The blast was caused by the illegal storage of hazardous chemicals.(Zhang Xiaoyi)