Japan's JX Nippon Oil at Full Capacity at Operational Refineries

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources East Asia (Kofu-shi, Japan)--JX Nippon Oil and Energy Corporation's (TYO:5001) (Tokyo) refinery in Sendai, Miyagi, remains shut down due to the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck off Miyagi prefecture's coast on Friday, March 11. Sendai and the surrounding area experienced a magnitude 6+ shockwave and the subsequent tsunami originating from Friday's earthquake.

A fire broke out at the refinery immediately following the quake. The fire continues to burn in portions of the facility. Originally, it was thought that the fire originated at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank, but it actually began at a land oil transport facility. Personnel have so far been unable to enter the facility, but will do so to assess damage when the fires are extinguished.

JX's Sendai refinery has a throughput capacity of 145,000 barrels per day (BBL/d). The company announced on Friday, March 18, that it had begun redistributing undamaged product to people within the quake- and tsunami-damaged area after the onset of freezing temperatures. Each day, 200 barrels of diesel and kerosene will be distributed.

JX's 270,000-BBL/d refinery in Negishi, Kanagawa, was also affected by last Friday's earthquake, experiencing a magnitude 4 or 5 shockwave. The refinery was shut down, but no damage has been observed. In response to gasoline shortages, Negishi personnel began shipping refined product to depleted gasoline stations on March 14. JX expects to have Negishi refinery running at full capacity by the middle of next week. Prior to the earthquake, the refinery was running 40,000 BBL/d below capacity due to poor economics.

At the time of the earthquake, JX had an aggregate throughput capacity of 1.36 million BBL/d, approximately 263,000 BBL/d below full capacity.

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