Petrobras looking for partner in Okinawa refinery

Nansei Sekiyu Kabushiki Kaisha, the Japanese refining subsidiary of Brazil’s state-owned Petrobras, is looking for a partner that will supply crude and buy fuel from it refinery in Okinawa. The move will secure the company’s feedstock and revenue streams and free up money for an upgrade. Nansei Sekiyu Kabushiki Kaisha’s refinery is currently running at an 80% utilization rate of its nameplate capacity of 100,000 barrels per day (bpd). Prior to the March earthquake, the refinery’s utilization rate was only 60%, but the fall in nuclear electricity generation favored Nansei when fuel oil demand increased, resulting in the current utilization rate. At present, 40% of the output goes to Okinawa, while 60% is exported. The Okinawa refinery is important to Petrobras’ long-term strategy. Reuters reported in 2010 that Petrobras had plans to use the Okinawa refinery as a trans-shipment hub for crude oil delivery to Asia, which will increase the company’s oil exports to the region by more than 33,000 bpd. (November 2, 2011)