TOKYO: “Japan has received its initial shipment of oil from Russia since global supplies were disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the onset of the Iran war”, reports indicated on Tuesday.
A tanker transporting crude oil produced as part of the Sakhalin-2 natural gas development project arrived at the coast of Imabari in western Japan and commenced offloading at a refinery on Tuesday, according to public broadcaster NHK and other media outlets, citing unnamed sources from the economy ministry.
Japan, which relies on the Middle East for approximately 95 percent of its oil imports, has sought to diversify its energy sources since the outbreak of war on February 28 led to Tehran effectively closing the strait.
The project in Russia’s Sakhalin region is exempt from the global economic sanctions imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Wholesaler Taiyo Oil received a directive from the economy ministry to accept the shipment, the reports stated.
At the refinery, the crude oil will be processed into gasoline, naphtha — which is utilized to produce various products including plastics, chemical fibers, and paints — as well as other petroleum products, they noted.
Officials from the ministry and the company were not immediately available to verify the reports.
A global oil supply shortage is having a significant impact on the Asia-Pacific region, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi remarked on Monday in Canberra following discussions with her Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese.
Japan and Australia are poised to take urgent measures to ensure stable energy supplies, she stated.
Approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil typically transits through the Strait of Hormuz, and its closure has caused prices of the commodity to surge.
Takaichi mentioned last week that Tokyo is anticipated to have sufficient naphtha-derived chemical products to last beyond the end of the year after increasing imports from sources outside the Middle East.
Japan’s relations with Russia have deteriorated since it aligned with global sanctions against Moscow due to the Ukraine conflict.
