Japan Energy to reduce crude runs

Japan Energy Corp, the nation’s sixth-biggest oil refiner, planned to reduce its crude oil processing volumes for January-March by 11%, from the same period a year earlier. Japan Energy, the refining unit of Nippon Mining Holdings Inc., also considered refining 5.55 million kiloliters (kl) of crude oil including condensate in the first quarter of 2009, a company spokesman said. For the October-December period, Japan Energy estimated its crude refining volume at 6.21 million kl, including condensate, up 3% from a year earlier but down from its initial plan of 6.27 million kl. (December 27, 2008)