Nippon Oil Corp. plans to import crude oil from Russia's Sakhalin Island in a bid to diversify its oil supply sources, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said Wednesday.

Some 500,000 barrels of crude oil produced under the Sakhalin I project will be purchased by Nippon Oil. Besides, the company is also considering buying fuel from the Sakhalin I oil fields throughout the year, the newspaper said.

Nippon Oil plans to transport crude oil, which will be sent from the Sakhalin I oil fields to the Russian oil export terminal of DeKastri, in the Far Eastern Khabarovsk region, through a pipeline to its refineries in Muroran, Hokkaido, and other places using tankers, said the report.

About 90 percent of Japan's imported crude oil are from the Middle East, which usually takes some 20 days to transport. In contrast, oil transportation between Sakhalin and Hokkaido only requires about two days, it added.

The Sakhalin I project, launched in October 2005 to produce crude oil for commercial use, is operated by a consortium led by U. S. energy company Exxonmobil, a group of Japanese companies, two Russian and other firms.

According to reports, the project is slated to expand production capacity to 250,000 barrels a day within the year.

Japanese oil companies have imported crude oil through the Sakhalin II project since 2001, though shipments have to be suspended during winter.

Source: Xinhua