Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, will increase its supply of crude oil to Japan by at least 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Saturday.

Saudi Aramco, currently supplying nearly 1 million bpd to Japan, has recently signed an oil supply accord with the country and will accordingly become Japan's top crude oil supplier.

Meanwhile, Saudi Aramco would acquire 9.96 percent of shares of Showa Shell, a Japanese refining and marketing company, SPA reported.

Under terms of the accord, the transfer of shares is to be completed in August this year.

Saudi Aramco has also agreed in principle to acquire an additional 4.99 percent of Showa Shell's shares from the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, said the report.

Showa Shell is one of the largest refiners in Japan, with access to refining capacity of 515,000 bpd through three affiliated refining companies.

Source: Xinhua