Japan and India To Release Oil Reserves as Requested By the U.S.

According to three government sources, Japan is considering an unprecedented release of state oil reserves following a request from Washington for coordinated action to combat soaring energy prices.

Japan’s law allows the release of oil reserves in the event of a shortage or natural disaster, but does not mention doing so in order to overcome high oil prices.

“We have no choice but to come up with something” in response to a request from the US, another source.

Because the plan has not been made public, the sources refused to be identified.

Japan has never released oil from its national reserves, despite the fact that oil companies did so during the 1991 Gulf War and in 2011 earthquake and tsunami disasters.

On Monday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stated that nothing had been decided, while Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated on Saturday that the government was considering its legal options.

As OPEC members and allies repeatedly refused to speed up their production increases, the Biden administration sent an unusual request to some of the world’s largest oil-consuming nations, including China and India, asking them to consider releasing oil from their strategic reserves. China and India are both major consumers of oil.

According to official data, the Japanese government held 145 days worth of daily petroleum consumption at the end of September, well above the 90 days required by law.

The private sector’s reserves total 90 days, which is more than the 70 days required by law.

Original source material for this article taken from here.