Idemitsu shuts down Tokuyama refinery on poor economics

27 September 2010 09:54  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan has shut down its 120,000 bbl/day Tokuyama refinery ahead of schedule due to weak market conditions, a source close to the company said on Monday.

Refinery units at Tokuyama were shut down during the course of last week and were expected to be down for around one month, the source added.

The 120,000 bbl/day crude distillation unit (CDU) at Tokuyama was shut down on 21 September and is expected to come back on line on 21 October.

The 55,000 bb/day vacuum distillation unit was shut down on 15 September and is expected to resume operations on 18 October.

Meanwhile, the 26,000 bbl/day fluidized catalytic cracker (FCC) was shutdown on 23 September and is expected to come back on line on 22 October.

The 20,000 bbl/day naphtha reformer was shut down on 22 September and expected to resume operations on 14 October.

Earlier this year, Idemitsu had announced that the Tokuyama refinery would close during November and December due to weak market conditions in Japan.

The move by Idemitsu was triggered by a decline in Japanese oil demand over recent years, which has been exacerbated by the recent global recession.

Idemitsu operates four refineries in Japan, which have a combined capacity of 640,000 bbl/day.

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By: James Dennis
+65 6780 4359

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