TOKYO: State-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) has bought 1.26 million barrels or 200,000 kilolitres of Middle Eastern light crude for the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, industry sources said on Friday.
JOGMEC had been seeking three grades, Saudi Arabia's Arabian Extra Light crude and Abu Dhabi's Murban and Lower Zakum crude, they said.
But it was unclear which grades were sold to JOGMEC as part of the government's move to replace heavier crude with lighter grades.
JOGMEC could not be reached for comment.
Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp was cited as having won the tender, two sources said, but Mitsubishi was not immediately available for comment.
The tender, conducted on Friday, is the first since JOGMEC's July purchase of 1.89 million barrels or 300,000 kl of Abu Dhabi Upper Zakum crude for national reserves.
In recent years, Japan has been replacing heavier crude in its reserves with lighter crudes to reflect the growing share of light crudes in recent imports. The tender is not linked to any emergency release coordinated by the International Energy Agency.
Shipments are to be delivered to the Shibushi national oil storage in Kagoshima, southern Japan, between Jan. 20 and March 5, 2014. (Reuters)
