Japanese refiner Cosmo is trimming is term purchases of Qatari crude for its latest yearly contract starting in August.
Officials at Cosmo declined to comment on details of the term contract, but traders estimate that the refiner is currently taking around 70,000 b/d of Qatari crude and may be cutting volumes by 10-20pc.
The reduction is mainly because of a fall in Japanese oil demand, forcing a cut in many of Cosmo's term crude contracts. Relatively high prices of Qatari crude are also a factor.
Cosmo had already reduced its term imports of Iranian crude by about 5,000 b/d this year to 45,000 b/d.
Officials at Cosmo declined to comment on details of the term contract, but traders estimate that the refiner is currently taking around 70,000 b/d of Qatari crude and may be cutting volumes by 10-20pc.
The reduction is mainly because of a fall in Japanese oil demand, forcing a cut in many of Cosmo's term crude contracts. Relatively high prices of Qatari crude are also a factor.
Cosmo had already reduced its term imports of Iranian crude by about 5,000 b/d this year to 45,000 b/d.
