Japan to Release More State Oil Reserves

Tokyo, April 10 (Jiji Press)–Japan will start releasing additional state oil reserves equivalent to about 20 days of domestic consumption as early as the beginning of May, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Friday. “We will ensure stable crude oil supplies,” Takaichi said at a meeting of relevant cabinet ministers to discuss how to cope with the fallout from the ongoing Middle Eastern crisis. The decision comes as it remains uncertain whether oil tankers can safely pass through the Strait of Hormuz even after the United States and Iran agreed on a ceasefire. The Takaichi administration specifically aims to ease procurement concerns among users of crude oil and other oil products such as naphtha, although it maintains Japan has secured enough oil product supplies to meet domestic demand. Since March 16, the Japanese government has released in step 15 days’ worth of oil from private reserves, 30 days’ worth from national reserves and roughly six days’ worth from oil producer countries’ joint reserves. The country had 228 days’ worth of oil reserves in total as of Tuesday, down 13 days’ worth from the start of the release. The upcoming extra release will be smaller in quantity than the previous state release because Japan is now expected to secure by May more than half the total amount of oil it procured last year, people familiar with the matter said. Still, the planned release amount allows a margin for a procurement shortfall of around 10 pct, they added. At the meeting, participating ministers also decided to push back by a month the deadline Wednesday for a cut in mandatory private-sector stockpiling to 55 days of consumption from 70 days. Japan has stepped up oil imports from Gulf countries bypassing the strait effectively blocked by Iran, as well as from the United States. “We are confident that we are able to supply oil beyond the year-end,” Takaichi reiterated. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]