TOKYO: Japan’s largest refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy plans to process 4.46 million kiloliters or 935,084 b/d in September for the domestic market, down 5% year on year, due mainly to scheduled maintenance at the Mizushima-A plant, a company official said Thursday.
JX Nippon Oil & Energy plans to run scheduled maintenance at its the sole 140,000 b/d crude distillation unit at its Mizushima-A plant in western Japan over September 16-November 7.
JX’s planned crude throughput for September will be the lowest for the month since the downstream arm of JX Holdings was established in July 2010, down from the previous low of 4.67 million kl in September 2014, the official said.
However, JX plans to hike its September exports of oil products mainly to Asian and Australian markets by 17% year on year to 820,000 kl or 171,921 b/d amid steady overseas middle distillates prices, the official said.
JX hiked its oil exports by 13% from an earlier plan to 930,000 kl or 188,694 b/d in August, prompted by improvements in overseas middle distillates markets, the official said. JX’s August oil exports are expected to be nearly four times higher than the 240,000 kl exported a year ago, the official said.
JX’s crude throughput in August is coming in at 5.17 million kl or 1.05 million b/d after cutting the run by 4% from an earlier plan to an excess supply of middle distillates in the domestic market. JX’s crude runs in August to be 2% lower than a year ago.
Japan is in the midst of peak summer oil demand season over July-August, when the weather has an impact on demand for crude, fuel oil and LPG used for thermal power generation as well as motor fuel during the summer months. Japan’s August gasoline demand was estimated at around 5.13 million kl or 1.04 million b/d, up 3% year on year, the official said.
Gasoil demand was also estimated to rise 4% on year to 2.81 million kl in August as the country’s economic activity supported demand for transport, the official said. The country’s estimated fuel oil demand for power generation in August was 680,000 kl or 137,970 b/d, up 2% from a year ago, as a result of heatwaves experienced in the month, pushing up oil demand for power, the official added.
