Japan will continue to release oil reserves held by the private sector for the fourth straight month starting Tuesday running through Jan. 4 in a concerted action with the International Energy Agency.
In a joint action by 26 IEA members following hurricane damage to U.S. oil production facilities, Japan has since Sept. 7 reduced its normal 70-day minimum stockpile among 66 private-sector oil companies by three days to 67 in a bid to increase supplies and stabilize the global oil market.
The Natural Resources and Energy Agency, part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said Monday that although the prospect of an oil supply shortage has declined, the IEA has maintained its policy of seeking additional joint oil stock releases if necessary.
The Paris-based energy watchdog announced Sept. 2 that its members would release a total of 60 million barrels from their strategic oil reserves after Hurricane Katrina severely damaged oil production facilities along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The discharge target has not been achieved yet and no IEA member has ended releases from its oil stockpile, an agency official said.
Japan was asked to handle 12.2 percent of the release.