Earthquake disrupts Japanese refining operations

Japanese refiners have halted operations at some refineries following a 7.3 magnitude earthquake that occurred offshore Fukushima on 13 February.

Three refineries along with others' secondary units have been shut because of the earthquake.

Eneos was forced to stop operations at its 145,000 b/d Sendai refinery after the earthquake with the duration of the closure still unknown. The company has also shut some secondary units at its 270,000 b/d Negishi refinery because of a power outage but the 150,000 b/d No.4 crude distillation unit (CDU) is operating normally. The 120,000 b/d No.1 CDU at Negishi had already been shut for unknown reasons since 25 January.

Idemitsu halted operations at its 190,000 b/d Chiba refinery because a power outage after the earthquake. Electricity to the refinery has already resumed but the restart schedule is still unclear. Idemitsu subsidiary Toa Oil suspended some secondary units at its 70,000 b/d Kawasaki refinery but the CDU is operating normally.

Fuji Oil was forced to shut the 143,000 b/d Sodegaura refinery in Chiba. But the company is planning to resume operations tomorrow.

The earthquake created tight electricity supplies, especially in the Tohoku area, because some thermal power generation capacity was forced to shut down. But the country's refiners are unlikely to be asked to supply fuel oil for power generation purposes, according to market participants.

By Maiko Nakashima