By Peter Landers
TOKYO--Japan has said it has won authorization from the U.S. to continue importing Russian crude oil at a price above the $60-a-barrel cap observed by other U.S. allies.
The exception granted to Japan will last until June 28, 2024, after previously having been scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2023. It covers oil exported to Japan from the Sakhalin-2 project in Russia's Far East, in which Japanese trading companies have invested.
A U.S. Treasury Department license dated Sept. 14 authorized the extension.
Japanese officials have said the country needs to import a small amount of Sakhalin-2 oil that is extracted alongside much larger quantities of natural gas. Russian liquefied natural gas, or LNG, accounts for nearly 10% of Japan's total LNG imports under long-term contracts.
Japan imported 6.9 billion yen, equivalent to about $46 million at current rates, worth of Russian oil in the first two months of this year at a price of nearly $70 a barrel. It hasn't imported any since then, according to Japanese government trade statistics.
Under the U.S.-led sanctions policy, companies in the Group of Seven advanced democracies are allowed to transport and insure Russian crude only if the price is below $60 a barrel.
The policy aims to hold down Russia's revenue while continuing to supply global markets with Russian oil, according to U.S. officials. They have said the exception granted to Japan affects only a tiny amount of oil and doesn't change the policy's effectiveness.
Write to Peter Landers at peter.landers@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-27-23 0100ET
