RIYADH, Feb 1: With fears of disruption in oil supplies from this part of the world growing due to a possible war against Iraq, Saudi Aramco has eased cuts on crude oil shipments to Japan and other parts of Asia, industry sources were quoted as saying. In a notification issued to Japanese oil refineries and trading houses, it announced easing the earlier laid restrictions in crude exports with effect from February 1.

Late December last year, Saudi Aramco had notified Japanese crude oil importers it would cut its oil shipments to the region by 23 per cent from the original shipment quantity. The latest announcement would limit the shipment cuts for February to only five per cent, it was learnt. The decision to ease exports of crude comes in the wake of the OPEC decision to raise its combined oil output to 24.5 million barrels a day from 23 million barrels a day to curb the surging oil prices. The decision meant that Saudi oil shipments to Japan during February could increase by more than 100,000 barrels a day from the January level.

Earlier Iran had also announced cutting down its crude exports to Iran by 10 per cent. However, it had indicated its readiness to expand shipments if Japanese importers requested increased supplies.

The United Arab Emirates, Japan’s largest oil supplier, Kuwait and other OPEC states were also expected to follow the Saudi Aramco lead. Japan is wholly dependent on crude and gas imports as it does not virtually have any domestic energy source available.