Japan Secures U.S. and African Crude Oil Amid Hormuz Blockade

Japan has secured crude oil supplies from the United States and Africa amid the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz due to the conflict between the U.S. and Iran. On July 7, an oil tanker carrying approximately 116,000 kiloliters of crude oil from Alaska, procured by Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan, arrived at a mooring facility in Tokyo Bay. This oil is slated for transport via an undersea pipeline to a refinery in Sodegaura City, Chiba Prefecture. Concurrently, a tanker operated by Taiyo Oil, carrying about 36,000 kiloliters of crude oil sourced from South Sudan, docked at a refinery in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, on the same morning. These deliveries represent the first imports of crude oil from Alaska and South Sudan since the escalation of the Iran conflict. The combined total of roughly 152,000 kiloliters from these two sources is equivalent to about half a day's worth of Japan's domestic crude oil consumption. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry noted that while crude oil imports decreased by up to 35% year-on-year in April due to worsening Middle East tensions, alternative procurement routes, including those from the U.S., are enabling a recovery. The ministry anticipates that crude oil imports for July could exceed 70% of the previous year's levels.