Tankers are anchored at the port of Muscat, the capital of Oman, on March 7, as Iran claims to have blocked the Strait of Hormuz. (©Reuters)
On March 16, the Japanese government announced the release of oil reserves to ease growing supply concerns stemming from the situation in Iran and stabilize the distribution of petroleum products vital to economic activity.
The move marks the first such release in four years, since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The government will initially release the equivalent of 15 days' worth of privately held reserves, followed by one month's worth of government-held reserves starting in late March.
It will lower the reserve requirement for oil refiners and trading companies from 70 days to 55 days under the Oil Stockpiling Act, allowing them to draw down their inventories. The move aims to prevent disruptions in the supply of gasoline and other petroleum products.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced earlier on March 11 that Japan will release about 80 million barrels from its oil reserves — the largest release on record. This amounts to roughly 45 days of domestic consumption and 1.8 times the volume released after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
Preparations are underway to sell oil to refiners so government-held reserves can be released without delay after private-sector reserves are drawn down.
Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency also announced that member countries will soon begin the largest coordinated release of oil reserves in the organization's history.
Crude oil futures in New York rose on March 15, with the benchmark West Texas Intermediate briefly topping $100 per barrel.
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Author: The Sankei Shimbun
(Read this article in Japanese)
