Japan's quake-hit Kashima restarts

摘要

Japan's JX was scheduled to restart its 189,000 b/d Kashima refinery on 4 June. The plant was closed for nearly three months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 11 March (AGM, 2 May, p3). JX is targeting a summer 2012 restart for its 145,000 b/d Sendai refinery, which was also damaged in the earthquake. Japan- ese crude imports were 3.6mn b/d in April, 270,000 b/d below year-earlier levels. The drop mostly affected Saudi and Iranian imports.