Japan refiners to diversify crude sources, explore support for Hormuz bypass routes

TOKYO, July 15 : Japanese oil refiners will diversify supply sources while exploring ways to support Middle Eastern producers, including pipeline expansion projects that bypass the Strait of Hormuz, the head of an industry group said on Wednesday.Here are details:• "It is of the utmost importance to establish a viable alternative to crude oil transported through the Strait of Hormuz, rather than simply replacing crude oil sourced from the Middle East," Shunichi Kito, the president of Petroleum Association of Japan (PAJ), told a news conference.• Middle Eastern producers, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have asked the Japanese government to participate in or support plans to expand oil pipelines to bypass the strait, Kito said. • Kito, also the chairman of refiner Idemitsu Kosan, said U