Idemitsu Kosan has restarted operations at its Chiba refinery after maintenance carried out on its 190,000bpd distillery unit. Credit: Iljanaresvara Studio via Shutterstock.

Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan resumed distilling operations at its Chiba refinery last week after a maintenance period, a spokesperson told Reuters on Monday.

The integrated energy conglomerate had initially halted the 190,000 barrel per day (bpd) crude distillation unit (CDU) to conduct scheduled maintenance. The unit at the company’s Chiba refinery has been inactive since April. Idemitsu’s spokesperson told Reuters that the company does not disclose “minor maintenance” information.

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Idemitsu’s Toa Oil subsidiary also resumed activities at its Keihin refinery last month after a period of inactivity. The company initially shut down its 70,000bpd CDU for maintenance in January, with April as a scheduled return date. However, additional work had to be completed, which delayed the restart to the beginning of June.

Idemitsu completed the purchase of the entirety of Toa Oil in September 2022 for $134.8m (Y19.51bn) after a drawn-out purchasing process lasting more than a year. Idemitsu already owned 50.12% of the oil company but only purchased the remainder in September 2022, including a 31.5% stake owned by Cornwall Capital Management. This made Toa supply refined crude petroleum products to Idemitsu, a wholly owned Idemitsu subsidiary.

A third CDU at Idemitsu’s Yokkaichi refinery also resumed operations in June. The 155,000bpd CDU had been closed since 18 May to carry out a maintenance turnaround. It means the company has added 415,000bpd of crude oil to its operations after various shutdowns.

Despite this resurgence in oil production, Idemitsu has been investing in resources to support the renewable energy transition as of late. In June, the company purchased a 15% shareholding in Australian miner Delta Lithium, which it will use to produce materials for electric vehicle batteries to aid the renewable energy transition.

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