Japan's trade ministry on Tuesday imposed administrative sanctions on refiner JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp after it admitted to failing to keep inspection records properly at its Mizushima-B refinery. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement that it would not allow the company to conduct its own maintenance checks at the plant in western Japan for at least two years.
The move means that JX will have to shut down the plant, which can pump out 240,200 barrels per day (bpd), every year for annual safety inspections by local authorities. Previously, the Mizushima-B refinery could be shut as rarely as once every four years for planned maintenance, a JX spokesman said.
The company indefinitely shut almost all the units at the plant in late July for safety checks following the disclosure that inspection records had not been properly kept. It restarted one of the two crude distillation units (CDU) in November, but the other has remained shut. JX has found discrepancies in safety records at several other refineries and facilities, but that has been no impact on operations of other refining units, the company spokesman added.