Japan Energy Firm to Prioritize Selling Central Asian Oil to Domestic Wholesalers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:02 JST, March 29, 2026

INPEX Corp., a Tokyo-based major energy development firm partially funded by the Japanese government, will sell crude oil procured in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to Japanese companies on a priority basis, the company announced Friday.

Amid concerns over a stable supply of crude oil due to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the move is hoped to lead to the diversification of oil suppliers to Japan, which depends on Middle Eastern countries for more than 90% of its oil supply.

INPEX holds parts of crude oil production interests in the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan and the ACG oil fields in Azerbaijan, both of which are offshore the Caspian Sea. The Kashagan oil field has a capacity of producing about 430,000 bpd while the ACG oil fields are capable of producing about 350,000 bpd. The fields produce light to medium crude oil with similar qualities to medium crude oil produced in the Middle East.

The energy firm has sold oil to customers in Europe under long-term and spot contracts. However, the company intends to sell some of the spot-contracted oil to Japanese oil wholesalers on a priority basis. An official of the company said, “We’ve exercised the utmost consideration to contributing to stable oil supply to Japan.”

A route via the Red Sea or via the Mediterranean Sea and the Cape of Good Hope will be used to deliver oil from the two sources. It will take about 35 to 55 days to reach Japan from Kazakhstan and about 25 to 50 days from Azerbaijan, twice as long as from the Middle East. That means the shipping cost will be higher.