TOKYO, March 23 (Reuters) - North America is one

potential alternative source of crude oil for Japanese oil

refiners, with Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico also seen as

possible options, Japan Petroleum Association President Shunichi

Kito said on Monday.

Oil buyers across the globe have been looking to replace

supplies on tankers stuck in the Gulf region because of the

U.S.-Israeli war on Iran and subsequent closure of the Strait of

Hormuz.

"Japanese oil companies are exploring procurement options

from various countries or dispatching vessels to them," Kito

told a press conference.

Procurement of crude oil is the top priority, even if

soaring freight rates and insurance fees incur higher costs, he

added.

Oil prices have spiked to more than $100 a barrel as the

Strait of Hormuz, a major supply route for global oil and LNG,

remains closed.

In an attempt to soften the supply crisis, U.S. President Donald

Trump's administration has temporarily waived sanctions on the

purchase of Russian and Iranian oil stranded at sea.

Japan has no immediate plans to import oil from Iran or

Russia other than from the Sakhalin 2 project, Kito said.

Kito, who is also chairman of Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu

Kosan ( IDKOF ), said the crisis should serve as an opportunity

for Japan to diversify supply sources in the long term.

Japan, which imports 95% of its oil from the Middle East,

should invest in crude oil production in Alaska to diversify

supply, he said.

If the Iran crisis continues, the Japanese government should

also consider a second round of oil release from its strategic

stockpiles on a similar scale to the first round, Kito said,

after Japan started to tap reserves last week.

The International Energy Agency is consulting with governments

in Asia and Europe on the release of more stockpiled oil,

Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Monday.