Japan's Cosmo Oil Company has purchased a US crude oil cargo, the first by a buyer in the country since the ending of a four-decade ban on most US crude exports and potentially the first in Asia, two sources familiar with the matter said. Cosmo Oil, a unit of Cosmo Energy Holdings, has bought about 300,000 barrels of US crude, to be shipped from the United States in mid- to late-February, one of the sources said, Reuters reported. While exports of US crude have already set sail to Europe, the deal could mark the first shipment to Asia. Chinese oil refiner Sinopec Corp has also bought US crude for export, to be loaded from a Gulf Coast port in March. Japan, which relies on the Middle East for around 80% of its crude imports, has been trying to diversify its energy sources. The cargo is currently slated to arrive at Cosmo's 220,000 barrels-per-day Chiba refinery and 132,000 bpd Yokkaichi refinery around the middle of April, one of the sources added.
