The Japanese oil refinery Eneos Holdings, formerly JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy, has permanently shut down its 115,000 bbl/d refinery in Osaka (Japan), as announced in July 2019, due to decreasing demand for oil products in Japan and fiercer competition in Asia. The refinery site will be converted to an asphalt-fired power plant.
In 2010, JXTG and PetroChina signed a ten-year agreement setting up a 51%-49% joint venture to operate the Osaka refinery, as the companies expected that the demand for oil products would decline in Japan, while it would increase in the Asia-Pacific region. In September 2020, Eneos announced ownership changes in two Japanese refineries: the Osaka refinery will be closed and transferred to Eneos. In turn, the Osaka International Refining Company (OIREC) joint venture will take over Eneos' 129,000 bbl/d Chiba refinery in Japan as of December 2020.