Japan’s Iran oil loading to continue through March
Japanese refiners will continue to lift oil from Iran through March after receiving a waiver from U.S. sanctions on crude imports in November, Takashi Tsukioka, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) said.
Japanese refiners will continue to lift oil from Iran through March after receiving a waiver from U.S. sanctions on crude imports in November, Takashi Tsukioka, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) said.
Japan resumed oil liftings from Iran this month after refiners Fuji Oil Co Ltd and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK loaded cargoes onto a tanker that is expected to arrive in Japan on Feb. 9, according to Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide.
Japan’s oil refining industry will continue to ask its government to seek an extension of the U.S. sanctions waivers after the initial 180-day exemption is over in May, he said
Japanese refiners will likely be able to secure alternative supplies from other Middle Eastern countries, he added.
Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd plans to buy the remainder of its contractual volumes of Iranian oil between February and March, said Tsukioka, who also serves as Idemitsu’s chairman.
Idemitsu is likely to renew its term contracts for Iranian oil although details have not been decided, he said.