Japanese refiners will continue to lift oil from Iran through March after receiving a waiver from U.S. sanctions on crude imports in November, Takashi Tsukioka, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ) said on Thursday
* Japan resumed oil liftings from Iran this month after refiners Fuji Oil Co Ltd and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK loaded cargoes onto a tanker that is expected to arrive in Japan on Feb. 9
* Japan’s oil refining industry will continue to ask its government to seek an extension of the U.S. sanctions waivers after the initial 180-day exemption is over in May, he said
* Japanese refiners will likely be able to secure alternative supplies from other Middle Eastern countries, given their friendly relationships, even if the exemption is not extended, he said
* Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Co Ltd plans to buy the remainder of its contractual volumes of Iranian oil between February and March, said Tsukioka, who also serves as Idemitsu’s chairman
* Idemitsu is likely to renew its term contracts for Iranian oil although details have not been decided, he said