TOKYO: Japan plans to release 20 days’ worth of oil reserves from May, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told a cabinet meeting on Friday (Apr 10), to ensure stable domestic supply while searching for non-Middle East barrels as conflict in the region disrupts global supply.
The United States and Iran have agreed on a two-week ceasefire to the war that began in late February, but there is no sign of Iran lifting its near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which has caused the worst-ever disruption to global energy supplies.
Japan is dependent on the Middle East for some 95 per cent of its oil.
It began releasing reserves on Mar 16 unilaterally and in coordination with other nations under a plan to make available enough oil to last 50 days. The 20 days’ worth is additional.
As of Apr 6, Japan had enough oil for 230 days in its reserves, including 143 days in its public stockpile.
The new release would come from the public stockpile, Takaichi said. By May, Japan should be able to secure more than half of its oil imports via routes that do not include the Strait of Hormuz, she added, without naming the sources.
Japan is bringing substitute oil supply from the US, its closest ally, and those levels will be four times higher in May than a year earlier, a document released by the industry ministry showed on Friday.
Last May, Japan was importing around 189,000 barrels of oil per day from the US, or some 8 per cent of its total crude oil purchases that month, according to customs data, and US officials have called on Japan to buy more.
