Al-Mansouri ... ready to meet oil demand
UAE open to meeting any oil demand from Japan
TOKYO, September 29, 2015
The United Arab Emirates is open to meeting any demand for oil from Japan, the Gulf Opec member's economy minister Sultan bin Saeed Al-Mansouri told Reuters.
This comes on the heels of the minister saying last month that the UAE was open to meeting Indian oil demand, an indication that it plans to keep output levels high to defend its market share in Asia against US shale oil and other higher-cost supply sources.
Asked whether UAE was ready to provide any demand for oil from Japan, the world's No.3 oil user, Mansouri said: "Definitely". He was speaking after meeting Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry, Yoichi Miyazawa, in Tokyo.
"UAE always has been meeting the demand of the Japanese requirement in oil for a long time," he said. "And we'll always continue to do that."
Mansouri said there was no agreement on oil projects/investments or oil storage with Japan because he is not responsible for energy matters.
UAE ranks as the second-biggest crude oil exporter to Japan after Saudi Arabia, and provided around 840,000 barrels per day or 24.4 per cent of the country's total imports last year. -- Reuters
