Eneos (formerly known as JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy) has announced ownership changes in two Japanese refineries, the 115,000 bbl/d Osaka refinery and the 129,000 bbl/d Chiba refinery, shifting its joint venture with PetroChina to Eneos' Chiba refinery after shutting the venture's Osaka refinery in October 2020.
In 2010, JXTG and PetroChina signed a ten-year agreement setting up a 51%-49% joint venture to operate the 115,000 bbl/d 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 July 2019, Eneos decided to close the refinery by October 2020, citing decreasing demand for oil products in Japan and fiercer competition in Asia. The Osaka refinery (51% Eneos and 49% PetroChina) will be converted to an asphalt-fired power plant and it will be 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.
Eneos Holdings is the largest oil group in Japan, with a refining capacity of nearly 2 mb/d; it controls half of the gasoline market and operates more than 14,000 retail outlets in the country. The company was created in 2017 from the merger between JX Nippon Oil & Energy and Tonen/General (3 refineries with a total capacity of 0.5 mb/d). Earlier in September 2020, Eneos Holdings presented a plan to accelerate its transformation into a supplier of low-carbon energy and materials. The company intends to close refineries, and to transform them into chemical refineries or energy platforms for electric power, hydrogen and others. To this end, Eneos could shut down the Kashima refinery (197,000 bbl/d) or the Mizushima refinery (320,000 bbl/d). In May 2020, the company pledged to spend JPY1,500bn (US$14bn) over the 2020-2023 period to drive the change.
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