Japan, Saudi Aramco extend Okinawa crude storage deal

Japan, Saudi Aramco extend Okinawa crude storage deal
The logo of Aramco is seen as security personnel walk before the start of a press conference by Aramco at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on Nov 3, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed)

TOKYO: Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) has renewed a deal with Saudi Aramco for crude oil storage on the island of Okinawa for another three years, the state-run Japanese company said on Thursday (Dec 22).

Under the agreement, JOGMEC leases 13 national crude oil stockpiling tanks on the island southwest of mainland Japan to Aramco, enabling Saudi Arabia’s state oil producer to store about 1.3 million kilolitres of crude oil for the next three years, JOGMEC said in a statement.

In return for providing free storage space to Saudi Aramco, Japan gets a priority claim on the oil stocks in an emergency.

The tank lease deal has been running since 2010 and has been renewed every three years.

Source: Reuters/zl