Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Japan’s oil imports from Saudi Arabia and the UAE increased significantly in November 2021 and amounted to over three-quarters of Japan’s oil needs, according to data from the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy that belongs to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Imports of Saudi crude oil in November 2021 amounted to 32.4 million barrels or 38.4% of Japan’s total oil imports, up from about 27.5 million barrels in the previous month.

The UAE provided about 32 million barrels, or 37.9%, up from 25.5 million barrels of total imports in the previous month.

According to the data, Japan imported 84.3 million barrels during November, compared to 73.08 million barrels in October. The share of Arab oil in Nov. 2021 remained high at 92% of the total imports or about 77.5 million barrels provided by 8 Arab countries, including Kuwait (8.7%), Qatar (4.9%), Iraq (1.2%), Bahrain (0.6%), Sudan (0.2%) and Algeria (0.1%).

Japan imported from Russia, the only European source, 3.6 million barrels (4.3%). Ecuador provided 2.1 million barrels (2.5%) while Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia supplied less than 1%.

The figures represent the quantities of oil that reached refineries, tanks, and warehouses in Japan’s ports during November 2021.