Shunichi Kito, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ), said refiners had been able to maintain supplies despite disruptions affecting Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure and uncertainty over the security of shipping routes in the region.
Kito said Saudi crude shipments to Japan had not come to a complete halt. Instead, some cargoes were being moved through alternative arrangements, including ship-to-ship transfers outside the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important oil shipping routes.
"In some cases, oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz at Saudi Arabia's risk before being transferred to us outside the Gulf. For that reason, supplies from Saudi Arabia have not ceased entirely," he said, adding that he could not say that the situation would continue.
His comments came after oil prices rose sharply earlier this week, approaching four-month highs amid reports of disruptions at Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea export hub of Yanbu. Sources said crude loadings there had been suspended, while Riyadh had also cancelled some deliveries to European customers after an attack last week damaged its East-West pipeline.
The developments have heightened concerns that further escalation in the region could threaten the flow of crude and push international oil prices higher.
Japan is particularly sensitive to disruptions in Middle Eastern oil supplies because the country relies heavily on imports to meet its energy needs. Any prolonged interruption to shipments could therefore put additional pressure on refiners and fuel markets.
Kito, who is also chairman of Idemitsu Kosan, Japan’s second-largest oil refiner, said domestic refiners had been able to secure sufficient crude through November by making use of stockpiles accumulated from previous releases of Japan’s national oil reserves.
He said refiners did not currently require another release of government-held reserves to maintain supplies through the period.
However, Kito cautioned that the existing stockpile position should not be interpreted as a guarantee against future disruption. With the military situation in the Middle East changing rapidly, refiners may still need additional government reserves if supply constraints persist or worsen.
Kito said he could not rule out the possibility that Japan would have to release more oil from its national reserves, stressing that the trajectory of the conflict remained difficult to predict.
The immediate availability of crude provides Japanese refiners with a buffer against the latest disruptions, but the longer-term outlook remains uncertain. Continued fighting around key oil-producing and shipping areas could affect both the availability and cost of crude imported by Japan.
For now, industry officials say supplies remain adequate through November, while closely monitoring developments in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the wider Middle East.