Quake hit Japan's oil refinery capacity has recovered to the level before the March 11 disaster which knocked out several refineries in eastern and northeastern Japan.
Japanese oil refiners have lifted their daily processing capacity to 4 million barrels by raising production at their refineries in the western half of Japan and restarting some of the disaster-hit facilities, Petroleum Association of Japan said.
The combined capacity, which dropped to around 2.7 million barrels a day at one point, now comfortably exceeds daily domestic demand estimated at around 3.3 million barrels.
Production at three refineries -- JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp.'s Sendai Refinery, Kashima Oil Co.'s facility in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, and Cosmo Oil Co.'s refinery in Ichihara, Chiba Prefecture -- remains suspended due to damage from the disaster.
