Nippon was forced to close its second-largest refinery at Mizushima late last week, following an explosion and subsequent fire. The incident happened just days after Nippon was forced to close two of its smaller refineries at Osaka and Marifu following revelations that the company had falsified safety inspection documents between 1998 and 2002.
The 250,000-bopd Mizushima plant comprises two crude distillation units, one of which was re-opened on Thursday while the other remains out of action. The closure of the third refinery within a week means Nippon Oil now has 380,000 bopd of its refining capacity offline, representing over a quarter of its 1.23m-bpd total capacity.
To rub salt into the wound Industry minister Takeo Hirunama has also warned the company could also face prosecution for negligence and mismanagement due to the safety inspection scandal.
