TOKYO�Japan's refiners have scheduled eight maintenance turnarounds. Four of the shutdowns will be at Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. refineries, two at Tonen Corp. plants, and two at Japan Energy Co. refining complexes.
Idemitsu Kosan said on Monday its wholly-owned subsidiary Okinawa Sekiyu Seisei will shut down its 110,000 b/d crude distillation unit May 9-June 24 due to construction projects at secondary units in the refinery. An Idemitsu spokesman said Okinawa Sekiyu Seisei's southern Japan crude unit also will be closed in September due to further construction work on secondary units, although exact dates have not been decided yet.
Okinawa Sekiyu Seisei has already closed its refinery for 1 month this year, starting Jan. 16, for regular maintenance.
The 160,000 b/d crude distillation unit at Idemitsu's Aichi refinery in western Japan is shut down until May 13, also because construction work is being carried out on secondary units.
Idemitsu's other two refineries will be closed for regular maintenance as scheduled. The 140,000 b/d Hokkaido refinery in northern Japan will be shut down June 12-July 12, and the 120,000 b/d Tokuyama refinery in western Japan will be closed Oct. 3-Nov. 5, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, Tonen will idle the 175,000 b/d crude distillation unit at its Kawasaki refinery near Tokyo for regular maintenance May 16-June 16. Tonen also said its wholly owned subsidiary Kygnus Sekiyu Seisei's 80,000 b/d crude unit will be shut down for regular maintenance in July, although exact dates are not available.
Japan Energy shut down all units at its 100,000 b/d Chita refinery in central Japan on May 6 for a 50-day regular maintenance. A company official said the firm plans to restart the refinery around June 24.
Meanwhile, Japan Energy also plans to shut down the 110,000 b/d No. 3 crude unit at its Mizushima refinery in West Japan for a 45-day regular maintenance starting in mid-September. But it will skip a turnaround for its 90,200 b/d No. 2 crude unit at the refinery.
