TOKYO : Japan’s largest oil refiner, Eneos, said on Tuesday that it will gradually halt production of lubricants and some petroleum products at its Yokohama plant near Tokyo by March 2028, but will consider relocating lubricants output to other facilities.
The decision follows a comprehensive review of the petroleum refining and marketing landscape, including the structural decline in domestic demand for petroleum products and intensifying global competition, particularly in Asia, the company said in a statement.
“We have determined an urgent need to restructure the production and supply system of our manufacturing facilities,” Eneos, a unit of Eneos Holdings, said.
Japanese refiners have been consolidating production facilities to adapt to falling demand caused by a shrinking and aging population.
The Yokohama plant, which began operations in 1922, has an annual production capacity of 126,000 kilolitres of lubricants and 3,900 metric tons of grease. It will start reducing output of lubricants and some value-added petroleum products in January 2026.
However, Eneos will consider relocating lubricants production from Yokohama to its existing facilities and has no plans to scale back lubricant business, a company spokesperson said, adding that the move will not affect its oil refining capacity in Japan.
The restructuring is aimed at boosting the company’s overall production efficiency, the spokesperson said.
The refiner has yet to decide whether to continue making other products, such as grease, at the Yokohama plant, the spokesperson said.
