Saudi Aramco, Japan extend Okinawa crude storage deal

The Japan Oil, Gas, and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) signed a contract with Saudi Aramco on Wednesday to extend a crude storage agreement on the island of Okinawa by three years.

Aramco can store up to a million kiloliters (6.3 million barrels) of crude on the island for the next three years, under the agreement, JOGMEC said.

The volumes are the same from the previous three-year deal, which expires this month. Aramco and Japan were previously discussing expanding storage capacity by two million barrels, it was reported in October.

In exchange for providing the storage space to Aramco, Japan will have a priority claim on the crude stocks in case of an emergency.

Saudi Arabia is one of Japan’s major oil suppliers, accounting for one-third of the country’s crude oil imports.

Aramco has stored crude in Okinawa since 2011, using the facility to supply oil to China, Japan and South Korea among others.