Japan has no plans for a new release of crude oil from its state reserves, said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara. The decision comes against the backdrop of the G-7 agreement to coordinate the release of 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from emergency stocks, News.bg reports.
Kihara explained that Japan has already taken several steps to use its strategic reserves. “Japan has been releasing oil from its reserves for some time and at this stage there are no plans for further releases“, he said.
In March, Tokyo pledged to provide about 80 million barrels as part of the operation coordinated by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The country also carried out a second phase of release in May.
At the same time, the question remains to what extent the new 100 million barrels agreed by the G-7 will be additional to the already announced release of 400 million barrels from the reserves of 32 IEA member states in March.
According to IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, by the beginning of October, about 325 million barrels of the initially agreed 400 million had been released. This represents over 80% of the planned amount.
The new G-7 decision is mainly aimed at easing tensions in fuel markets, especially diesel. The countries also committed not to introduce restrictions on the export of energy resources while markets remain under pressure due to supply disruptions.