JX boosts Mizushima refinery capacity by 19,800 BPD

Japan’s JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., an oil refining unit of JX Holdings, said it boosted the capacity of its Mizushima refinery by a further 19,800 barrels per day (BPD) to 400,000 BPD in the wake of a supply shortage after Japan’s March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The company had already raised production by 30,000 BPD after the quake, it said in a statement. The company restarted the 270,000 BPD Negishi refinery that had been shut after the quake on March 21, but said it expected to take a considerable amount of time before restarting the 145,000 BPD Sendai and 252,500 BPD Kashima refineries, both of which sustained major damage. (March 22,2011)