Delivery of its first shipment of oil from Russia has been received since global supplies were choked off by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the Iran war, reports said.
A tanker carrying crude that was produced as part of a Sakhalin-2 natural gas development project reached the coast of Imabari in western Japan and started offloading to a refinery yesterday, public broadcaster NHK and other media reported, citing unnamed sources from the economy ministry.
Japan, which depends on the Middle East for around 95% of its oil imports, has tried to diversify its sources of energy since the outbreak of war on Feb 28 saw Teheran effectively shut the strait.
The project in Russia’s Sakhalin region is not subject to global economic sanctions against Moscow that were put in place after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Wholesaler Taiyo Oil received a request from the economy ministry to take in the shipment, the reports said.
At the refinery, the crude will be turned into gasoline, naphtha – used to make various products from plastics, chemical fibres to paints – and other petroleum products, they said. — AFP
Delivery of its first shipment of oil from Russia has been received since global supplies were choked off by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the Iran war, reports said.
A tanker carrying crude that was produced as part of a Sakhalin-2 natural gas development project reached the coast of Imabari in western Japan and started offloading to a refinery yesterday, public broadcaster NHK and other media reported, citing unnamed sources from the economy ministry.
Japan, which depends on the Middle East for around 95% of its oil imports, has tried to diversify its sources of energy since the outbreak of war on Feb 28 saw Teheran effectively shut the strait.
The project in Russia’s Sakhalin region is not subject to global economic sanctions against Moscow that were put in place after it invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Wholesaler Taiyo Oil received a request from the economy ministry to take in the shipment, the reports said.
At the refinery, the crude will be turned into gasoline, naphtha – used to make various products from plastics, chemical fibres to paints – and other petroleum products, they said. — AFP
