TOKYO (Reuters) – A fire broke out at Idemitsu Kosan’s Chiba refinery early Tuesday afternoon, a company spokesperson said, adding that no further details were available for now.
Idemitsu Kosan, Japan’s second-biggest oil refiner, operates a 190,000-barrel-per-day crude distillation unit (CDU) at the Chiba refinery near Tokyo. It was not immediately known if the unit continued to operate, the spokesperson said.
The fire broke out at about 0230 p.m. JST (0530 GMT) and fire department crews are on site, the spokesperson said.
The fire was at a lubricating oil production facility, public broadcaster NHK reported, showing video footage of fumes in the site.
One person is believed to be injured, NHK said, adding that the fire department received an initial report from a staff member at the refinery that cited incidents of hazardous materials on fire and oil leakage.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
