Japan has secured enough petroleum-derived naphtha to last into 2027, with imports expected to triple in May as the country tries to address concerns about sufficient supplies of oil and oil-derived products.<\/p>\n
Questions over possible shortages of naphtha \u2014 used for products ranging from medical supplies to cheap consumer goods to plastic foam, paint thinner and construction materials \u2014 have been rising due to the Iran war, which disrupted oil supplies from the Middle East.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had previously indicated that the supply of naphtha-derived chemical products would continue for more than six months,\u201d Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a government meeting about the situation in the Middle East on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, it is now expected to be extended further and continue into the next year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The government said that naphtha supplies from countries outside of the Middle East \u2014 such as the United States, Algeria and Peru \u2014 will triple in May to 1.35 million kiloliters per month, compared to levels prior to the Iran conflict.<\/p>\n
Japan has 1.8 months\u2019 worth of inventories of products such as polyethylene, she added. But she also asked the public and manufacturers to avoid hoarding naphtha-derived products, as the forecast is based on last year\u2019s demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor this reason, we\u2019re posting notices at home improvement stores, asking customers purchasing paint, paint thinners, adhesives and similar items to limit their purchases to normal quantities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In the healthcare sector, she said the government was making steady progress in resolving distribution bottlenecks for products such as surgical scalpel disinfectants and solvents used in the manufacture of medications for headaches and fevers.<\/p>\n