Japan extends UAE crude storage deal through 2019

apan has agreed to allow the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) to store crude oil in the country for two more years, giving the nation’s second-largest supplier continued access to a depot through 2019, the trade ministry said on Thursday.

The agreement came during a meeting last weekend between Japan Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko and ADNOC chief executive Sultan Al Jaber in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement.

Tokyo has given UAE free crude storage since 2009. The arrangement had been due to expire at the end of this year and was extended to the end of 2019, a trade ministry official said.

Under the deal, ADNOC can store up to 6.29 million barrels (1 million kilolitres) at Kiire oil terminal in Kagoshima, southern Japan at no cost.

Japan has a similar arrangement with Saudi Arabia. The deals provide the two biggest oil suppliers to Japan easy access to Asian markets while giving the country priority access to the reserves if it is in short supply.

The government counts half of the barrels stored by the two suppliers as part of the national strategic crude reserves.