China plans to pump about 11 million barrels of state reserve crude oil into private storage tanks by year-end, an industry official said, as Beijing expands its strategic oil stockpiling beyond state oil giants.

"The government plans to pump close to 1.5 million tonnes of oil into private tanks before the end of the year," the source with knowledge of the government's plan said on Wednesday.

The comment was in line with earlier local media reports.

The National Energy Administration picked through a tender last month to select about six private firms, all on the east coast, to be part of Beijing's plan to establish a supply buffer for the world's fastest-growing major oil consumer.

State-run oil and gas firm CNOOC is likely to act as agent to secure the oil from the international market, said the industry official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Officials at the State Reserve Centre declined to comment.

Local media reported earlier this month that the government signed a two-year lease with the private firms, based in eastern Shandong and Zhejiang province.