Japan's JX to raise Feb crude throughput by 8% on year to 1.35 mil b/d
Tokyo (Platts)--30Jan2013/257 am EST/757 GMT
Japan's largest refiner, JX Nippon Oil & Energy, plans to process 6.03
million kiloliters (37.93 million barrels or 1.35 million b/d) of crude oil
for the domestic market in February, up 8% year on year, a company official
said Wednesday.
The February throughput figure, which excludes crude that will be
processed for oil product exports -- is higher due to lower-than-usual
volumes in February 2012, said the official.
In the year-ago period, JX's crude throughput was lower because the
company's 145,000 b/d Sendai refinery in northern Japan had yet to be
restarted after the March 2011 quake and its 127,000 b/d Marifu refinery in
west Japan was shut over February 4-March 5 for a turnaround, he said.
In January this year, JX's crude throughput for the domestic market is
expected to come in at 6.04 million kl, down 5% year on year, the official
said. The lower throughput this month is due to unexpected shutdowns at the
company's 252,500 b/d Kashima refinery in eastern Japan, its Sendai refinery
and its 110,000 b/d Mizushima-B refinery in western Japan, the official said.
Article continues below...
|
| Request a free trial of: Oilgram News |  |
 | Oilgram News brings fast-breaking global petroleum and gas news to your desktop every day. Our extensive global network of correspondents report on supply and demand trends, corporate news, government actions, exploration, technology, and much more.
|
|
The company's 189,000 b/d No.1 crude distillation unit at Kashima was
shut over January 3-7 due to a technical glitch, while some secondary units
at Sendai were also briefly shut this month, the official said. The 95,000
b/d No. 2 CDU at its Mizushima-B plant has been shut since July 2012 due to a
violation of the government's safety regulations with regard to its LPG tanks
and other units, Platts reported previously. It is unclear when this CDU will
be restarted, the official said.
Meanwhile, JX plans to export 180,000 kl of oil products in February,
unchanged from a year, the official said. The company's January exports,
meanwhile, are expected to be 200,000 kl, up 82% year on year, he added.
The company also imported 290,000 kl of oil products for January,
more than double the 110,000 kl in January 2012, the official said. The
company has yet to decide on its oil product import volumes for February.
JX has eight refineries in Japan, with a total capacity of 1.61 million
b/d.
--Atsuko Kawasaki, atsuko_kawasaki@platts.com
--Edited by Deepa Vijiyasingam, deepa_vijiyasingam@platts.com