Data from Japan’s Ministry of finance showed the country imported 5.84 million tons of naphtha from the Middle East in the January-August period of 2020, falling from 6.15 million tons in the same period last year. In August, Japan’s Middle Eastern naphtha imports stood at 1.66 million tons, 5.6% lower than in July, customs data showed. Qatar was Japan’s largest naphtha supplier during the eight-month period with 2.55 million tons, followed by the UAE (1.59 million tons), Kuwait (849,000 tons), Bahrain (445,000 tons), and Saudi Arabia (415,000 tons).
The decline came amid refinery turnarounds and lower crude runs. Data from the Petroleum Association of Japan showed domestic refiners produced 173,625 bpd of naphtha from July 26 to August 29, representing a year-on-year fall of 47.5%. Meanwhile, Japan’s naphtha imports from non-Middle Eastern suppliers rose 4% year-on-year to 11.71 million tons in the first eight months of 2020.
