KUWAIT CITY, April 17, (Agencies): Japan is currently importing 4.2 million barrels per day of oil but demand should pick up as it works to restore its economy after last month’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, a deputy minister said on Sunday.
“I think so, because we lost a lot of electricity supply capacity but at the same time Japan needs a lot of energy in order to restore our economy,” said Hideichi Okada, vice minister for international affairs at Japan’s economy, trade and industry ministry.
“Japan’s economic growth rate will decrease to some extent, which means out (oil) demand will slow down for a a certain period then demand will go up again.”
Okada told reporters Tokyo had received a number of offers of additional supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from producers in the Gulf region to help the country cope with the loss of power supplies from its stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Okada was in Kuwait for a biennual meeting of Asian countries and Middle Eastern energy producers.
Asian oil ministers and officials started arriving in Kuwait to take part in the 4th Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable Meeting, scheduled to kick off Monday.
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