“ExxonMobil continues to maximise production of products that are urgently needed in the most-impacted areas,” Philippe Ducom, president of TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K., the ExxonMobil affiliate refiner, said in an e-mail.
TonenGeneral’s Kawasaki refinery, restarted on Thursday, has been receiving crude shipments through the Kawasaki berth in Tokyo Bay, the company said.
“In addition to the Kawasaki refinery, all other three ExxonMobil Japan Group refineries, have returned to full operations,” it said, adding that the units are running above their normal rates to meet the high demand for fuel.
Some progress has been made in restoring energy supplies to the quake-stricken areas while Japan has also allowed the release of oil inventories to ease energy shortages.
JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp, a refining unit of JX Holdings , resumed operations at its Negishi refinery in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Monday. The refinery, which produces 270,000 barrels per day, has started production of gasoline and light oil to be shipped to areas damaged by the earthquake and tsunami.
Another major oil producer, Idemitsu Kosan Co , also said it began unloading oil products totalling 2,010 kiloliters at its Shiogama oil terminal in Miyagi Prefecture in the vicinity of the quake on Monday. The products included 1,050 kiloliters of gasoline, 470 kiloliters of kerosene and 490 kiloliters of gas oil.
