SINGAPORE  - * Japanese refiner Fuji Oil has bought 2.5 million barrels of Middle East crude for October loading via a tender and is seeking more oil to replace Iranian supplies, several trade sources said on Thursday

* Fuji Oil bought 1 million barrels of Banoco Arab Medium crude at premiums of about 15 cents a barrel to its official selling price (OSP) and another 1 million barrels of Qatar Land crude at discounts of 50 cents and 70 cents a barrel to its OSP, they said

* In a tender that closed on Thursday, the refiner bought 500,000 barrels of Upper Zakum crude at 25 cents a barrel below its OSP, the sources said

* Fuji Oil, like other Japanese refiners, is expected to stop loading Iranian crude from October onwards as U.S. sanctions on Iran will kick in from November 

* "Shippers, insurers and banks are very reluctant to do Iranian trade," one of the sources said

(Reporting by Florence Tan and Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) ((Florence.Tan@thomsonreuters.com; +65 6870 3497; Reuters Messaging: florence.tan.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))