Release of National Crude Oil Stockpiles

1. Background

In light of the current situation in the Middle East, crude oil tankers have been unable to effectively pass through the Strait of Hormuz for a prolonged period. As a result, since late March, imports of crude oil from the Middle East to Japan have declined significantly. Japan has an exceptionally high dependence on the Middle East for oil compared with other countries and will therefore be affected by such developments. In order to ensure that there will be no disruption in the supply of petroleum products, METI has decided to utilize oil stockpiles.

Accordingly, based on Article 31 of the Oil Stockpiling Act, METI will implement the release of national crude oil stockpiles to secure a stable supply of oil, as follows.

2. Details of the release

• Planned total volume to be released:
  approximately 8.5 million kiloliters
• Planned total value to be released:
  approximately 540 billion yen
• Release base:
  Tomakomai-Tobu National Petroleum Stockpiling Base; Kikuma National Petroleum Stockpiling Base; Shirashima National Petroleum Stockpiling Base; Kamigotou National Petroleum Stockpiling Base; Shibushi National Petroleum Stockpiling Base,
  Hokkaido Office, Hokkaido Joint Oil Stockpiling Co., Ltd.; Kashima Crude Oil Tank Yard, Kashima Oil Co., Ltd.; Nakasode Crude Storage Base, Sodegaura Refinery, Fuji Oil Company, Ltd. Kiire Terminal, ENEOS Corporation; Okinawa Office, Okinawa CTS Corporation; Okinawa Terminal Base, Okinawa Terminal Co., Ltd.
• Planned timing of release:
  sequentially from March 26 (Thursday) onward
• Recipients:
  ENEOS Corporation; Idemitsu Kosan Co.,Ltd., Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd., Taiyo Oil Company, Limited

Division in Charge

Fuel Supply Infrastructure Policy Division, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy