Japan refining capacity could drop 10%

摘要

Tokyo—The implementation of new government regulations Thursday could see Japan’s refining capacity cut another 10% to 3.55 million b/d by the end of March 2017. But the reduction in refining capacity, by about 400,000 b/d of the country’s current installed capacity, will only come about if Japan’s refiners opt to respond to the new regulations by cutting their crude distillation capacity, a source at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Wednesday. The new regulations come hard on the heels of the last round of METI-driven cuts which saw Japan’s installed refining capacity reduced by 12% year on year as of March 31 and down 19% from a 10-year high of 4.89 million b/d reached in April 2008.