Japanese Refiners Notify Iran of Plans to Suspend Crude Oil Imports for Oct.

Tokyo, Sept. 5 (Jiji Press)--Major Japanese oil refiners Idemitsu Kosan Co. and Cosmo Energy Holdings Co. have notified Iran of their plans to suspend imports of crude oil for October, due to the risk of sanctions by the United States, which is calling for an embargo on imports of Iranian oil, informed sources said Wednesday. Top domestic refiner JXTG Holdings Inc. and Fuji Oil Co. , which heavily relies on Iranian oil, have also decided to suspend imports from the Middle Eastern country on a temporary basis, according to the sources. The Japanese companies intend to decide what to do with imports for November after closely watching talks between the Japanese and U.S. governments on the planned introduction on Nov. 5 of U.S. sanctions against importers of Iranian oil. Japan is asking the United States to give its companies an exemption from the planned sanctions. With negotiations showing little progress, however, the domestic refiners found it too risky to continue to import Iranian oil, the sources said. In 2017, Iranian products accounted for about 5.5. pct of Japanese crude oil imports. Since the share can be replaced with oil produced by Saudi Arabia and others, the planned import suspension will have no major impact on stable oil supplies in Japan. But as Iranian oil is relatively cheap, the refiners could face rises in procurement costs, possibly leading to gasoline price hikes, pundits said. END