Japan has offered to sell more crude oil from its national reserves in Okinawa, the trade ministry said, as it looks to make room for top exporter Saudi Arabia to store crude in the southern Japan islands.
Japan’s government is offering about 300,000 kilolitres of Kuwait crude from tanks it rents at the Okinawa Oil Base (OCC), a tender document from the website of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) showed on Friday.
The tenders come as part of a plan by the ministry to sell several thousand kilolitres of crude oil from its strategic reserves in the current fiscal year as it aims diversify the types of petroleum it holds.
Last month in a similar tender, Japan sold 220,000 kilolitres of Khafji crude stored in OCC to a Japanese buyer.
OPEC member Saudi Arabia and Japan are discussing an agreement under which the Saudis would put millions of barrels of crude oil in free commercial storage in Okinawa.
