Asia/Pacific News
Temporary Suspension of Fuel Oil Shipping from Sakaide
Japanese refiner Cosmo Oil says it will temporarily stop shipping bunker fuel from storage tanks in the Western Japanese city of Sakaide in the second week of September to accommodate construction, Platts reports.
The company, which stopped refining operations in the city in July, will adjust the facility to add more storage tanks.
Cosmo Oil ships about 10,000 metric tonnes (mt) per month of bunker fuel from the storage facility, according to industry sources.
The suspension of operations will have little impact on the local market since other refiners can supply the fuel, a Tokyo bunker trader said.
Cosmo Oil closed the 140,000 barrel-per-day refinery in July, saying at the time that reducing its capacity to three refineries would push down fixed costs and keep a high operating rate, improving competitiveness.
