25/03/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | MAR 25, 2026

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Japan to tap joint oil stockpiles

Philippines eyes ‘temporary’ coal push MANILA: The Philippines will try to boost the output of its coal-fired power plants to keep electricity costs down as the Middle East war wreaks havoc with gas shipments, its energy secretary said yesterday. The archipelago nation of 116 million, which has some of the region’s highest energy costs, relies on coal for about 60% of its electricity generation. Sharon Garin told reporters Tuesday that with the cost of LNG (liquified natural gas) soaring, the country would “temporarily” be forced to lean even more heavily on the carbon-belching fossil fuel. While hoping to “maximise” the use of local coal, the Philippines was also keeping the option of upping its purchases of coal from top supplier Indonesia, the energy secretary said. “We talked to the generation companies, the coal-powered plants, to check how much they can increase their generation,“ Garin said, calling it a “temporary measure” that could start as early as April 1. “If we are successful in implementing this, at least we can decrease the electricity rate hikes because of the conflict in the Middle East,“ she said. Indonesia, meanwhile, had assured the Philippines it would place no limits on coal orders. “There’s no restriction on our importation of coal from Indonesia as of today,“ Garin said, adding increased purchases may not be necessary. The Philippines – regularly affected by electricity outages – is heavily dependent on imported fuel to keep its power plants running. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos in January announced a “significant” discovery of natural gas made near the country’s rapidly depleting Malampaya offshore natural gas field. It was hoped the discovery could extend the life of the field, which supplies about 40% of power to main island Luzon and was expected to run dry within a few years. – AFP Mideast airlines park planes in Spain MADRID: Middle Eastern airlines have parked nearly two dozen aircraft at Europe’s largest maintenance facility located in Spain to keep their planes away from the conflict, the facility’s director said on Monday. Qatar Airways, one of the airlines most affected by the war, confirmed it had temporarily parked some planes at Teruel airport in eastern Spain. Teruel airport was used to park airplanes during the Covid pandemic and says it has become the largest facility in Europe for parking, maintaining and recycling aircraft. Iran has launched missiles and drones at targets across the Gulf in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks, including at airports. This has severely impacted the aviation sector in the region. “Because of this turmoil, we’ve become a haven for aircraft from the Middle East,“ Teruel airport’s director Alejandro Ibrahim said on Spanish radio station COPE. “The figure is already around 20 and a few more are expected,“ he added. Qatar Airways confirmed on Monday it had parked some of its aircraft outside of the Middle East. “Due to the current exceptional circumstances in the region and the resulting disruption to flight operations beyond our control, Qatar Airways has positioned some of its aircraft at selected airports outside Qatar,“ the airline said in a statement sent to AFP. “This is a temporary measure, and the aircraft will be progressively returned to service as flight operations are restored to normal levels,“ it added. – AFP

TOKYO: Japan will tap joint oil stockpiles held by producing nations in the country by the end of March, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, as Tokyo ramps up emergency measures to offset supply losses from the Middle East. Global oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2022 after the US and Israel launched missile strikes on Iran on Feb 28. The Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, remains closed. “We began releasing privately held reserves on March 16 and will begin releasing national reserves from the 26th,” Takaichi said on social media. “Furthermore, releases from jointly held stockpiles with oil-producing countries are also scheduled to begin later in March.” Japan’s contribution to a record oil stockpile release coordinated by the International Energy Agency will total nearly 80 million barrels, consisting mainly of crude oil, according to the IEA. In addition, some 13 million barrels, or a total of seven days of supply, are jointly held in Japan by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Of those, Japan will use five days’ worth of supply, Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa said. Two tankers, one sailing from the Red Sea’s Yanbu port in Saudi Arabia, and another from Fujairah in the UAE – all bypassing the Strait of Hormuz – are heading to Japan, he said, and are expected to arrive this week and early April.

As Japan is tapping its reserve funds for gasoline subsidies and, according to Reuters sources, is looking at intervening in the crude oil futures market, local buyers are looking elsewhere, including to the US, for supplies. Oil releases from private and public stockpiles can cover for external supplies until the end of April, said Shunichi Kito, president of the Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ), the industry group that represents the country’s major oil refiners. In a document presented to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party yesterday, the PAJ said alternative supplies would not reach Japan before June, even if purchased from the US or elsewhere. Kito urged the government to consider an additional oil stockpile release. While the IEA said it was consulting with governments in Asia and Europe on the release of more stockpiled oil, no decision was made in Japan with regard to a possible second strategic oil stockpile release, according to Akazawa. – Reuters

o Tokyo ramps up emergency measures to offset supply losses from Middle East

Another tanker from outside the Middle East is also heading to Japan, due to arrive in late April, Akazawa added. Tehran is ready to let Japanese-related ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Kyodo news agency last week. But Kpler ship tracking data showed no Japan-bound tankers left the area since early March. Mitsui O.S.K. and Nippon Yusen Kaisha, two major Japanese shipping companies with tankers stuck in the Gulf, have suspended transit and their vessels are waiting in a safe area, both companies said by e-mail.

An LNG tanker is seen at a terminal, jointly operated by Tokyo Gas and JERA, in Yokohama. – REUTERSPIC

Vietnam to cut domestic flights over jet fuel shortage HANOI: Vietnam’s national air carrier will suspend nearly two dozen domestic flights a week starting next month because of limited fuel supplies caused by the Mideast war, the nation’s aviation authority said. domestic airlines at risk of fuel shortages,“ prompting the flight cuts, the authority said. Major domestic routes and international flights are being maintained, it said. Vietnam’s Finance Ministry proposed yesterday halving the environmental

protection tax on gasoline and diesel, to 1,000 dong (RM0.16) per litre and 500 dong per litre, respectively, and reducing the same tax on aviation fuel from 1,500 dong to 1,000 dong. Elsewhere in the region, Myanmar’s national carrier announced on Sunday that it would also cancel some domestic flights “due to unavoidable circumstances”, without providing details. United Airlines said last week that it was scaling back its flight capacities because of the rising cost of jet fuel, which the US airline anticipated would keep surging as the war in the Gulf continues. – AFP

Airlines in Vietnam were working on adding fuel surcharges on international routes that may be applied in April, it added. Vietnam has recently asked for fuel support from several countries, including Qatar, Kuwait, Algeria and Japan, and on Monday signed a deal with Russia on oil and gas production in both countries. The price of 95-octane petrol and diesel in the manufacturing hub has soared by 50% and 70%, respectively, since the war began in late February.

The price of jet fuel has soared since the start of the conflict more than three weeks ago, which has sent oil prices surging and sparked fears of fuel shortages. “Vietnam Airlines plans to temporarily suspend operations on several routes from April 1,“ totalling 23 flights a week, the country’s civil aviation authority said in a statement late on Monday. “The limited supply of aviation fuel (Jet A-1) due to the conflict in the Middle East has put