A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit northeastern Japan today. Domestic refineries were undamaged by the earthquake, Japanese refiners told Argus.
The earthquake took place offshore northeastern Iwate prefecture at around 16:52 Japan time on 20 April, according to Japan meteorological agency.
The agency issued tsunami warnings to the coastal areas of Iwate, Aomori and northernmost Hokkaido prefectures. An 80cm tsunami was reported in Iwate prefecture, while smaller ones were reported in several prefectures such as Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, according to the agency.
Japanese refiner Idemitsu has a 140,000 b/d refinery in Hokkaido prefecture. But this refinery was not affected by the earthquake, Idemitsu said, adding that the Hokkaido refinery has continued operations and the refiner's other refineries were not affected either.
Fellow refiner Eneos has a 145,000 b/d Sendai refinery in Miyagi prefecture, but this refinery has been halted since 16 April after a gas leak. Eneos reported no damage by the earthquake to its refineries, including the Sendai refinery, according to the company. Japanese refiner Cosmo Oil's refineries were also not affected, the firm said.
