Tokyo [Japan], July 25: Japan's trade ministry said Friday that it has set up a working group to examine measures for stockpiling oil products, including naphtha, and diversifying crude oil procurement sources.
The working group will discuss mid- and long-term strategies in response to concerns over potential supply shortages of petroleum products triggered by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for Middle East crude oil, amid regional tensions.
Comprising university professors and lawyers, the group was established within the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy, one of the ministry's advisory bodies. Its first meeting was held the same day behind closed doors, according to Jiji Press.
Naphtha was subject to stockpiling obligations in Japan until 1993, when the government abolished the requirement due to heavy costs.
Japanese trade minister Ryosei Akazawa said this spring that the government would consider resuming the country's stockpiling of naphtha, after a string of complaints about shortages of thinners and paints made from naphtha.
Source: Emirates News Agency