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.

Iran’s Minister of Petroleum, Bijan Zangeneh said Tuesday the country’s recoverable oil stood at 160 billion barrels.

Japan's largest refiner JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy started loading of Iranian crude oil from Monday, almost three months after the US sanctions waiver was granted.