Hokkaido Refinery is an

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

Hokkaido, Japan is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

. The refinery began operations in 1973 to supply regions in northern Japan. It is operated by

Idemitsu Kosan is a Japanese petroleum company. It owns and operates oil platforms, refineries, produces and sells petroleum, oils and petrochemical products, and also operates gas stations under the brand and (until 2023) in its own ''Idemitsu'' and ''Sh ...

2003 fires

Following the 2003 Hokkaido earthquake, a major fire started in the naphtha

storage tank Storage tanks are containers that hold liquids, compressed gases (gas tank; or in U.S.A "pressure vessel", which is not typically labeled or regulated as a storage tank) or mediums used for the short- or long-term storage of heat or cold. The t ...

. It burned for almost 34 hours before being put out. A second fire started because of aftershocks caused by the massive earthquake. Refinery workers found damage in 29 of the refinery's oil tanks.

Increase in oil supply

In October of 2013 Idemitsu Kosan said they will increase the oil supply in the Hokkaido Refinery by February 2014, after declaring they are shutting down the Tokuyama refinery.

References

{{reflist Oil refineries