TOKYO: A tanker carrying Mexican crude oil bound for Japan’s Cosmo oil is expected to arrive in the country as early as Friday, according to Japan’s industry ministry.
The shipment offers Japan an alternative source of crude beyond its usual Middle Eastern supplies. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said this will be the first delivery of Mexican crude to the country since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran started in late February.
Cosmo oil operates as a unit of cosmo energy, the tanker is scheduled to reach the “Yokkaichi” refinery in central Japan before continuing on to the Chiba refinery near Tokyo.
The vessel made its journey from the Gulf of Mexico, routing around Africa’s cape of good hope to reach Japan.The shipment follows an agreement reached in April between Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum. During a phone call, the two leaders agreed to strengthen energy cooperation, as the war in Iran continued to disrupt global oil and gas supplies.
Cosmo in Japan traces its corporate roots to Maruzen Petroleum , a company established in 1931, although the oil business operated by Maruzen was originally established by Zenzo Matsumura in Kobe in 1907. Cosmo Oil Company was formed on April 1, 1986, through the merger of Maruzen Petroleum and Daikyo Petroleum, a group of oil businesses based in Niigata Prefecture, which merged in 1939.
