First tanker with oil from Azerbaijan since start of Iran conflict to arrive in Japan
A tanker carrying oil from Azerbaijan will arrive in Japan for the first time since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.
This was reported by the Kyodo news agency.
It is noted that the tanker will arrive on May 12. According to sources of the agency in the country's ministry of economy, trade and industry, the purchase of oil from Azerbaijan is being carried out as part of the diversification of oil supplies to Japan amid the ongoing de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Earlier, local media reported that the Japanese government is confident in its ability to fully meet the country's domestic oil needs at least until the end of 2026. It was emphasized that this will be possible through a combination of alternative oil procurement routes and the release of part of strategic reserves. Alternative routes include, in particular, supplies from the UAE via the port of El Fujairah and from Saudi Arabia via the port of Yanbu al-Bahr. It was noted that each of these countries can provide about half of the oil volume needed by Japan for domestic consumption.
It was also reported that the United States is capable of increasing oil supplies to Japan four times compared to last year's figures, primarily from terminals in Texas. At the same time, the shortfall will be covered precisely through strategic reserves, the release of which local authorities began in the middle of last month.
At the same time, Japan earlier purchased its first batch of Russian oil in almost a year, carried out by the Japanese company Taiyo Oil. A tanker with oil from Sakhalin arrived in Japan at the beginning of the month.
On March 16, sales of oil from reserves began in Japan on the market in a volume covering the country's needs for 45 days. It is being sold to wholesale companies at relatively low prices corresponding to the level before the start of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Japan has oil reserves corresponding to its needs for 254 days. They consist of state and private company reserves totaling about 470 million barrels.
Source: TASS
