Japanese oil refiners expect to secure enough alternative crude oil and fuel supplies to meet peak summer demand despite prolonged disruptions to Middle Eastern shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, the head of the industry’s main trade body said on Wednesday.
Shunichi Kito, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan, said refiners were increasingly turning to U.S. crude as a key replacement source, while also sourcing barrels from Latin America, Alaska and Russia’s Sakhalin-2 project.
Japan is also seeking additional supplies from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates through export routes that avoid the Strait of Hormuz, which has faced severe disruption since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran escalated earlier this year.
Kito said companies were relying on a mix of emergency stockpile releases and diversified procurement to stabilise fuel availability, adding that refiners did not expect shortages during the summer consumption season.
Before the conflict, roughly 95% of Japan’s crude imports came from the Middle East, leaving the country heavily exposed to disruptions in Gulf shipping routes.
The shift toward U.S. crude, however, comes with logistical and financial challenges, as very large crude carriers transporting American oil cannot pass through the Panama Canal fully loaded and must instead sail around the Cape of Good Hope.
That longer route can take about 55 days more than twice the normal Middle East transit time significantly increasing freight costs that refiners may ultimately pass on to consumers, Kito said.
Japanese refiners are also adjusting refinery operations by analysing the characteristics of alternative crude grades and modifying blending ratios to fit existing processing facilities.
The comments come as global oil markets remain under pressure from the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which previously handled about one-fifth of global oil trade and has forced major importing nations to redraw supply chains.
Kito said Japan would need to reduce its long-term dependence on Middle Eastern oil through broader procurement diversification, refinery upgrades and expanded use of alternative fuels such as biofuels to strengthen energy security.