Taiyo Oil to shut down Shikoku refinery in June

30 March 2007 14:15  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Japan’s Taiyo Oil is to shut down its 120,000 barrel per day oil refinery at Kikuma on the island of Shikoku, Japan, in June for scheduled maintenance, a source close to the company said on Friday.

The 32,000 bbl/day crude distillation unit (CDU) No 2 was scheduled to shut down on 12 June until 26 June, while the 88,000 bbl/day CDU No 2 would shut from 13 June through to 28 June.

Secondary facilities such as the 27,000 vacuum distillation unit at the refinery would be shut from 15 June until 29 June, while a 19,000 bbl/day hydrocracker would be down from 14 June until 30 June.

Kikuma’s 37,000 bbl/day continuous catalytic reformer would close from 15 June until 26 June.

The reforming unit at the Taiyo Oil refinery provides petrochemical feedstock for the production of some 400,000 metric tonnes per year of benzene and a 350,000 tonnes per year of mixed xylenes.

The benzene from the refinery facilities is used in the production of styrene monomer by Taiyo Petrochemicals.

Output from the Taiyo Oil refinery also includes oil products such as gasoline gasoil, kerosene and fuel oil which, are mostly for the domestic market on Shikoku.

According to the company source, it was unclear at this stage whether the company would have to make spot purchases of oil products in order to cover lost production.   

By: James Dennis
+65 6780 4359

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