Japan Sees Russia as 500,000 b/d Oil Supplier by 2015

by Takeo Kumagai, Platts, December 13, 2010
The startup this year of East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) shipments from Siberia has positioned Russia to add to its established role of LNG provider and become an increasingly important supplier of crude oil to Japan, which has traditionally depended on the Middle East for most of its imports... .

Japan's total crude imports from Russia could rise to 500,000 b/d by 2015, after the commissioning of the second stage of the 30 million mt/year (600,000 b/d) ESPO pipeline, which will extend the line from Skovorodino in Russia's Far Eastern Amur region to the Pacific port of Kozmino. [See map in this blog, here - D.R.] ...

Over the April-October period of this year, an 85% year-on-year increase in Japan's Russian crude import volumes to 271,000 b/d was recorded, due mainly to the startup in supplies of ESPO... . Read more