Tonengeneral Sekiyu News

The very large crude oil carrier (VLCC) 'Takamatsu Maru' has arrived at the Kawasaki refinery of TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. The 158,000 dwt tankship was chartered by TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. from NYK Lines, after the company purchased virtually all of Exxon Mobil Corporation’s Japan business. The vessel was built by IHI Marine United Inc. and delivered in June, 2012. TonenGeneral Sekiyu has also assumed the charters of two additional VLCCs — Taiga and Tamba — bringing to three the number of vessels currently chartered by the company from NYK.

Following the earthquake that struck on Friday 11th March, six Japanese refineries are reportedly closed. The plants in question, detailed in the table belo,have a combined capacity of 1.34m bbl/day, or around 28% of Japan’s total. The immediate effects of the earthquake are likely to cause a drop in oil demand, but it is likely that in the long‐run, oil and product demand could rebound to levels that surpass those seen pre‐quake as the country re‐builds. Furthermor with up to ten nuclear reactors shut down…