TOKYO - A tanker carrying approximately 45,000 kiloliters of crude oil from Azerbaijan arrived in Japan on May 12th, marking the first time Azerbaijani crude has reached the country as the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.
The shipment is the first crude oil import from Central Asia since tensions in the Middle East escalated and will be refined into petroleum products at ENEOS's Negishi refinery.
The Japanese government has been accelerating efforts to secure alternative crude supplies that do not pass through the Strait of Hormuz, including imports from the United States and Russia, as diversifying procurement sources becomes an increasingly important priority.
The shipment from Azerbaijan amounts to roughly 283,000 barrels of crude oil, equivalent to only a small fraction of Japan’s daily oil consumption of around 3 million barrels, but the delivery is symbolically important as Tokyo seeks alternatives to Middle Eastern supplies passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The crude will be refined at ENEOS’s Negishi refinery near Tokyo into products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene and petrochemical feedstocks, helping support fuel supplies in the greater Tokyo area.
Japan maintains one of the world’s largest emergency oil stockpiles, including both government-controlled reserves and private-sector inventories, with combined crude and petroleum product reserves generally covering several months of domestic demand, although concerns remain over the stability of replacement imports if disruptions in the Middle East continue for an extended period.
Source: FNN
