TOKYO: State-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) issued a tender on Wednesday to buy 1.26 million barrels or 200,000 kilolitres of Middle Eastern light crude for the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
JOGMEC will hold the tender on Nov. 8 with bids to be opened on the same day, the tender document showed.
The tender, aimed at replacing the crude mix in national reserves, 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.
JOGMEC is seeking Middle Eastern light crude, with shipments to be delivered to the Shibushi national oil storage in Kagoshima, southern Japan, between Jan. 20 and March 5, 2014, the tender document showed. (Reuters)
