Cost pressure grows for Japanese refiners

摘要

Japanese refiners’future costs are mount-ing as the government rolls out new dis-aster management requirements,while they face more pressure to upgrade or rationalise to stay competitive. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet has endorsed an action programme to cope with a large-scale earthquake devastating central and west-ern Japan that has a 70pc probability of occurring in the next 30 years.The plan urges the oil industry to reinforce refinery complexes and oil product terminals against such an earthquake by the 2020-21 fiscal year to ensure continued domes-tic oil distribution.