JAKARTA - The Japanese Ministry of Economy has ordered local oil companies to release a portion of their oil reserves, according to a file from the Japanese government's state sheet.
"Based on the Oil Reserve Maintenance Act of 1975, a decision has been made to reduce the basic oil reserve," according to a decision by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Monday, March 16, reported by ANTARA from Sputnik.
The instruction is valid until April 15 for all refineries, marketers, and oil importers. The volume of oil released to the market will be enough to meet Japan's oil supply for 15 days.
The decision to reduce oil reserves from government and commercial sources was taken following the rise in commodity prices due to tensions in the Middle East.
The Japanese government is said to be releasing 80 million barrels of oil from its reserve supply, equivalent to 45 days' worth of oil needs.
The amount will be obtained by releasing 15 days of reserves from commercial sources and 30 days of reserves from government storage.
At the time the oil reserves were released, Japan's oil reserve stock was enough for 254 days, or equivalent to about 470 million barrels of oil. This amount includes, among others, a reserve of 146 days from government storage and 101 days from private oil storage facilities.
Around 94 percent of Japan's oil supply comes from the Middle East, and almost all of it needs to cross the Strait of Hormuz, which is now closed due to the war.
The disruption in the Strait of Hormuz occurred as a result of a joint attack by the United States (US) and Israel on February 28 against Iran, including Tehran, which caused damage to infrastructure and casualties.
Iran then carried out retaliatory attacks against Israeli territory and US military bases throughout the Middle East.
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