Idemitsu Kosan announced due to equipment failure at its 160,000 b/d Aichi refinery last month has led to a reduction in crude oil processing. The company has also suspended other related facilities. The equipment failure took place on last month in the hydrodesulfurization unit, which desulfurizes heavy oil produced in the crude distillation facility. It produces low-sulfur heavy oil, the raw material used in the refinery’s 50,000 b/d residue fluid catalytic cracking unit (R-FCC).
Idemitsu Kosan says the hydrogen gas compressor attached to the hydrodesulfurizaiton unit was damaged and the R-FCC unit has also been suspended. In addition, adjustments have been made to the utilization rate at the crude distillation unit. Repairs to the damaged compressor will take approximately three months. The company plans to supplement shortages caused by the outage with purchases on the market.
