New satellite images by Google Images reveals that China may have stored more oil than its official estimates . Oil kept in storage was around 600 million barrels as of early this year , according to Orbital Insight . The National’s Business section on Twitter Updated: September 29, 2016 04:00 AM However , there were about 2,100 strategic and commercial petroleum reserve tanks capable of storing 900 million barrels as of the end of 2014 , according to the images , and these do not include underground caverns . These estimates are helping to shine a light on oil reserves that have puzzled commodities traders globally . This new findings are also the latest example of how private technology companies are using big data and machine learning to better understand China , where official data is often incomplete and private companies have disappeared without explanation .
New satellite images by Google Images reveals that China may have stored more oil than its official estimates . Oil kept in storage was around 600 million barrels as of early this year , according to Orbital Insight . However , there were about 2,100 strategic and commercial petroleum reserve tanks capable of storing 900 million barrels as of the end of 2014 , according to the images , and these do not include underground caverns . These estimates are helping to shine a light on oil reserves that have puzzled commodities traders globally . This new findings are also the latest example of how private technology companies are using big data and machine learning to better understand China , where official data is often incomplete and private companies have disappeared without explanation .