Japan seeks oil reserves in SE Asia

Japan seeks oil reserves in SE Asia

TOKYO (Nikkei): The government is considering establishing oil-storage facilities in Southeast Asian nations to help ensure a steady flow to them and Japan in the event of a regional oil shortage, it was learned Friday, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Saturday morning edition.

Petroleum consumption is surging in Asia, deepening fears that Japan's oil supply could be threatened.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has begun bilateral talks with officials from such countries as Thailand and Malaysia on the possibility of providing technical know-how and money to build storage facilities.

Details of the plan will be in a report to be drawn up this month by an energy security panel of the ministry's Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy.

Under a plan now being studied, Japan will offer to send experts to Thailand, which effectively has no oil-reserve facilities.

Japan may also hold separate talks with Malaysia and Indonesia about the possibility of creating a temporary storage facility for emergency use.

Malaysia and Indonesia form the bulk of the Malacca Strait, a narrow corridor connecting the Pacific and Indian oceans that has considerable strategic importance.

Asia's oil consumption, which in 1973 accounted for 14 percent of the global total, is forecast to more than double to 32 percent in 2020.