據世界能源新聞2020年3月8日東京報道，日本的石油產品銷售正在下滑，但日本幾家最大煉油企業表示他們不打算減產。

上周，日本國內包括汽油和航空煤油在內的成品油銷售下滑了逾四分之一。航空煤油銷售量下降了近80%。

他表示：“如果時間延長的話，COVID-19在日本將很有可能會進一步削弱成品油需求，最大的影響已經體現在航空煤油市場上?！?/span>

截至2月29日的一周內，日本汽油銷量下降了2.3%，至每日75萬桶，而燃料油銷量下降了逾20%，其中船用燃料銷量下降了逾20%，石腦油銷量下降了84%。

日本煉油廠開工率為82.2%，而前一周為84.3%。

日本第二大煉油企業出光興產株式會社發言人對路透社記者表示：“日本國際航班的航空煤油需求量出現了大幅度下降?！彼硎荆骸暗覀儧]有看到國內航班對航空煤油需求的任何具體影響，我們仍在研究疫情對國內汽油需求的影響有多大?！?/span>

出光興產不打算關閉其旗下煉油廠的任何原油蒸餾裝置，并表示這些裝置運轉正常。

日本最大的煉油商JXTG的一位發言人在電話中說：“疫情目前對我們的燃料庫存和設備沒有影響。我們認為這不會對我們的市場造成巨大影響。”

日本第三大煉油商科斯莫能源控股公司的一位發言人拒絕就需求或該公司是否已削減原油加工量發表評論，但他表示，公司所有部門都在正常運轉，公司沒有關閉任何煉油業務的計劃。

盡管如此，石油交易商表示，由于需求和利潤率下降，出光興產和其它日本煉油企業正在削減成品油產量。

李峻 編譯自 世界能源新聞

原文如下：

Japan's Oil Refiners Keep Running Even as Coronavirus Curbs Fuel Sales

Sales of petroleum products are slumping in Japan, but the country's biggest refiners say they are not planning to cut production.

Oil product sales, including gasoline and jet fuel, slumped more than a quarter last week, the most recent period for which figures are available.

"We estimate domestic Japanese oil product demand in the first quarter will fall by an average of 7-8% year-on-year, both as a result of slowing economic activity as well as a result of the battle against coronavirus," said Aaron Cheong, an oil products analyst at Energy Aspects.

"The spread of COVID-19 in Japan, should it be prolonged, will likely weaken demand further, with the largest impact already seen in the jet market," he said.

Gasoline sales fell 2.3% to 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the week through Feb. 29, while bunker fuel was down more than 20% for A-fuel and naphtha sales were off by 84%.

Japan's refinery run rate was at 82.2%, compared with 84.3% the previous week.

"Demand for jet fuel for international flights has dropped," said a spokesman at Japan's second-biggest refiner, Idemitsu Kosan (IDKOY), told Reuters.

"But we have not seen any specific impact on demand for jet fuel for domestic flights and we are still examining how much impact it has had on local gasoline demand," he said.

Idemitsu is not planning to shut any of the crude distillation units at its refineries and said they are operating as normal.

A spokesman at JXTG, Japan's biggest refiner with a roughly 50% market share, said by phone: "For our fuel stocks and facilities, there is no effect right now. We don't think there is a huge impact on our market."

A spokesman at Cosmo Energy Holdings, Japan's third-biggest refiner, declined to comment on demand or whether the company had cut crude runs but said all units were operating normally and it had no plans to shut any refining operations. Still, oil traders said that Idemitsu and other Japanese refiners were cutting runs due to lower demand and margins.