JOGMEC Buys Light Crude for Strategic Reserves

State-run Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC) on Monday bought about 2.52 million barrels (400,000 kilolitres) of light crude via tender for the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserves, a trade ministry official said.

JOGMEC was seeking four sets of 630,000-barrel light crude, which are to be delivered to two government stockpiling bases in Tomakomai City in Hokkaido, northern Japan, by Feb. 24, 2016.

The ministry official declined to comment on the crude grades or the prices.

The tender comes after Japan in June sold a total 4.15 million barrels of crude from the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserves as part of a plan to replace the oil with other grades.

In recent years, Japan has been replacing heavier crude in its reserves with lighter crudes to reflect the growing share of light crudes in recent imports. The tender is not linked to any emergency release coordinated by the International Energy Agency.

Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori