Middle East conflict makes Japan return to crude oil imports from Russia  

Japanese oil company Taiyo Oil announced that it will receive supplies of raw materials from Russia's Sakhalin-2 project at the request of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, for the first time since it stopped buying Russian oil in 2022.

"We received a request from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan) to accept the oil as we did last year. We were told that imports using these tankers are not subject to sanctions," a company spokesman told Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun, which was reported by Antara on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Nikkei newspaper reported that the shipment was a spot purchase of oil produced as part of the Sakhalin-2 project.

It is also stated that the imported oil is light crude oil of the Sakhalin Blend type, which is used to produce diesel fuel and naphtha.

On the other hand, Japan's Agency for Natural Resources and Energy said that despite its limited volume, Russian oil remains important for the country's energy security.

"In the midst of the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, even though the volume is small, Russian oil is also important to maintain a stable energy supply. We are coordinating with the United States and ensuring that imports from the Sakhalin-2 project do not pose a risk of sanctions," said the agency's spokesperson, as quoted by Sankei.

Japan has stopped routine purchases of Russian oil due to the situation in Ukraine, but still occasionally imports a very small amount as part of the Sakhalin-2 project.

For example, last summer, Taiyo Oil's refinery imported 600,000 barrels of Sakhalin Blend oil for the first time since 2023.