TOKYO - Japan has concluded a basic agreement with the United Arab Emirates to start receiving oil from Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) to help stock up its oil reserves, the government said on Thursday.

The joint project with ADNOC, under discussion since March, is expected to start this fall, with stocks of oil from ADNOC being stored in a reserve base of Nippon Oil Corp in Kagoshima, southern Japan, the trade ministry said in a statement.

The ministry did not provide details of the volume that Japan was expected to receive from ADNOC.

The official UAE news agency UAE said the agreement would contribute to enhancing Abu Dhabi's relationship with Asian markets generally and Japan particularly and guarantee the flow of crude oil supplies to these market in emergencies.

The ministry said the project will help beef up Japan's energy security by tapping the supply from ADNOC in times of supply shortages. (Reporting by Chikako Mogi; editing by James Jukwey)