Refineries in Japan will Resume Operations after Typhoon Hagibis
Refineries in Japan expected to resume normal operations after suspending their production and supply chains over the weekend. The typhoon Hagibis struck minimal damage to the country’s primary and secondary refining units.
Typhoon Hagibis made landfall southwest of Tokyo at around 7 pm local time on Saturday. It unleashed heavy rainfalls and burst of winds across the eastern part of the country before moving away.
Japan’s major refiners, including JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy, Fuji Oil, and Cosmo Oil, were quick to launch damage assessments. Contrarily, the companies have reported no major operational disruptions so far.
Fuji Oil will likely see its sole 143,000 b/d Sodegaura refinery in Tokyo Bay undergo normal operations this week.
Company sources say there were no severe incidents like explosions or flash flood damages to refinery units. Still, minor check-ups and clean-up works may require, but nothing too serious happened.
Moreover, the country’s largest refiner JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy, also reported no significant damage to its refineries. They only have minor maintenance works expected to take place within the next few days due to the recent heavy rainfall.
JXTG locked part of unidentified units at its 270,000 b/d Negishi refinery in Tokyo Bay as the facilities soaked in rainwater. This is according to a statement released Sunday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry.
The refiner had briefly suspended crude and oil product shipping operations over the weekend. Also, all transport and logistics flows will likely recover Monday, according to the latest METI statement.
Also, METI indicated that the weekend typhoon had not damaged Japan’s entire LPG storage facilities.
The typhoon came and went shortly. Japan typically faces 10 to 20 big typhoons on average per year. So, buildings and industrial complexes are designed well to withstand strong winds and earthquakes.
Refineries in Japan Diesel Demand
Refineries in Japan in October could post an abrupt decline in Japan’s auto fuel demand as consumer vehicle usage limited. This is because of multiple landslides and flooding, damaging some of the major roads and bridges.
NHK World cited Japan’s LTM officials, and the government confirmed the collapse of levees at 10 locations on nine rivers. It is due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Hagibis.
Many roads along the Chikuma River in Nagano Prefecture, wholly submerged with muddy water, the Ministry said.
However, sources said any sharp downturn in domestic auto fuel consumption and refinery output would be limited. Post-flood repair and construction works would support diesel demand going forward.
Furthermore, a source said average consumer demand would probably fall this month. It is due to road damages and closures. Contrarily, the repair works would also propel auto fuel demand, so refiners would have a reason to cut down on diesel and gasoline production.
Japanese refiners produced 5.97 million barrels of gasoline and 4.86 million barrels of gas oil during the week of September 29-October 5. They are up 22.7% and 18.9%, respectively, from a week earlier.
Meanwhile, Japan’s total refined oil product stocks stood at 66.85 million barrels as of October 5. They are up 1.6% from 65.80 million barrels a week ago. Also, middle distillate stocks inched 0.2% higher week on week to 34.77 million barrels on October 5.
