Japan seeks to secure early US exemption for Iran oil imports
Japan is seeking an ‘early’ exemption from the US on sanctions against Iran to facilitate oil shipping arrangements, a Japanese government source said on Monday.
The source declined to comment on the outlook for securing the US sanctions waiver or if Washington had asked Japan to stop its Iranian oil imports, Platts reported.
Petroleum Association of Japan President Takashi Tsukioka said Friday that Japanese importers of Iranian oil would need US sanction waivers by November 4 to continue imports because the US aims to shut down Iranian exports.
“We will have to take certain measures if things move because the US wants to take [Iranian oil] to zero,” Tsukioka told a news conference in Tokyo.
Tsukioka said refiners’ purchases of Iranian oil imports in August could be ‘the last’ without securing waivers as oil loaded after September would be subject to US sanctions. He added that October-loading barrels would be paid for in November.
“This means it will be difficult for us to gain a clear overview of all these developments in the next month and a half,” he added.
Japan’s largest refiner JXTG Nippon Oil and Energy said Monday it is aware of re- ports about the US’ request to slash Iranian oil imports to zero but said it had not received any guidance from the Japanese government over the imports.
“We will closely monitor and ascertain the situations,” a company spokesman said, declining to comment on its impact on Iranian oil imports and possible alternative supplies.
Takayuki Nogami, chief economist at Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. said that Monday that Japanese importers may have to suspend their Iranian oil imports as US President Donald Trump has said the US is imposing ‘powerful’ economic sanctions back “into full effect.”
In the face of increased US pressure for the upcoming sanctions, Nogami said: “There is a possibility that [Japanese importers] may stop imports of Iranian oil.”
He added, “I cannot rule out the possibility of seeing [Iranian oil imports] falling to zero even if Japan secures [sanctions] waivers from the US,” noting that the timing of the zero imports remains unclear.
Japan imported an average of 165,481 bpd of Iranian oil in the fiscal year 201718 (April-march) — down 28 percent from the previous fiscal year. Iranian imports accounted for 5.2 percent of Japan’s total crude imports of 3.19 mbd in the fiscal year ended March 31, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry data.