Katya Golubkova

The United States and Japan have agreed on the roles they will take in a potential joint nuclear project involving Westinghouse ​and Japanese nuclear power equipment makers, Dan Lipman, president of ‌global business initiatives at Westinghouse, told Reuters on Saturday.

Japan plans ​to start releasing oil from its stockpiles on Monday to soften the shock from the ‌U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, a stark reminder of the oil crisis half a century ago that prompted Tokyo to create reserves.

Japanese refineries cut utilisation rates to 69.1% in the week to March 14 from 77.6% a week earlier ​and from more than 80% before the start of the U.S.-Israeli ‌war on Iran, which has disrupted oil supply from the Middle East, data from the Petroleum Association of Japan showed on Wednesday.

Japan's gas demand may fall if the war on Iran continues to curb naphtha supply to petrochemical plants and hits their sales ​of resins including plastics to a range of manufacturers, gas company chiefs said ‌on Wednesday.

Japan plans to release 20 days' ‌worth of oil reserves from May, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told a cabinet meeting on Friday, to ensure stable domestic supply while searching for non-Middle East barrels as conflict in the region disrupts global supply.

A Panama-flagged tanker, Idemitsu Maru, carrying crude oil from ​Saudi Arabia is attempting to cross the Strait of ‌Hormuz, shipping data showed on Tuesday.

Some ‌big Japanese trading houses forecast on Friday record annual profits as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran keeps commodity prices high, while Japanese utilities warned of weaker earnings as fuel procurement costs spike.

Japanese refinery Taiyo Oil is to receive a cargo of crude oil from ​Russia's Sakhalin-2 project next week, the company said on ‌Saturday, as the country seeks alternative sources of petroleum after the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran limited supplies from the Gulf.

Japan's ‌industry ministry said a tanker carrying Azerbaijani crude oil was set to arrive as early as Tuesday with the first cargo of oil received from Central Asia since the Iran war began in February.

Japanese refineries increased their oil ​processing to over 70% of their capacity for the first time since March, ‌Petroleum Association of Japan data showed on Wednesday, as they consumed crude released from stockpiles and alternative supplies.