ExxonMobil donates funds for recovery and relief efforts in Japan but refineries still inoperational

Exxon Mobil Corporation has announced a donation of US$ 1 million to the Japanese Red Cross Society, in order to provide disaster relief assistance in response to the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The company has also implemented a worldwide program to match employee, retiree, dealer and distributor donations to Japanese disaster relief, which is expected to add a further US$ 2 million approximately.

ExxonMobil affiliates employ approximately 2900 people in Japan and have petroleum and petrochemical refining and distribution, gas and power marketing and project engineering businesses in the country.

ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha and TonenGeneral, ExxonMobil’s affiliates in Japan, are working closely with Japanese authorities to ensure adequate fuel supply to emergency responders and the areas hit to assist in the recovery.

Philippe Ducom, representative director of ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha and president of TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK, said:

‘Our people are making exceptional efforts to maximize gasoline production at our refineries and deliver stable supplies to our service stations, especially in the most affected areas. Our Kawasaki refinery is maximising its on site power production to help supply electricity to the densely populated Kanto area.’

Refineries remain shut

Six Japanese refineries remain shut after the natural disaster, all of which are located in northeastern Japan. The refineries are capable of processing almost 1.4 million bpd of crude oil and account for more than 25% of the country's total processing capacity. It is unclear whether all the refineries taken offline are damaged, or if some closures are the result of precautionary shutdowns.

JX Holdings Inc's 145 000 bpd Sendai refinery and Cosmo Oil Co's 220 000 bpd Chiba refinery were damaged by fire after the earthquake. Other refineries that have been shut down are JX Nippon’s 252 500 bpd Kashima refinery, Kyokuto’s 175 000 bpd Chiba refinery, TonenGeneral’s 335 000 bpd Kawasaki refinery and JX Nippon’s 270 000 bpd Negishi refinery.

A seventh refinery, owned by Idemitsu Kosan Co is still in partial operation. Idemitsu's 220 000 bpd Chiba refinery is running normally. Kyokuto Co.'s 175 000 bpd Chiba refinery was left undamaged by the earthquake although it is unclear whether the refinery is operating. JX Holdings's 252,500 bpd Kashima refinery was also not operating after the earthquake due to a power outage. Brazilian state oil company Petrobras said on Friday operations were normal at its 100 000 bpd Nansei Sekiyu refinery.

ExxonMobil's 335 000 bpd Kawasaki refining complex is also partially closed, but will restart as early as March 17, with full production expected a few days later.

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/16032011/exxonmobil_donates_funds_for_recovery_and_relief_efforts_in_japan_but_refineries_still_inoperational/