The company reached the decision after it noted decreased production of crude oil from its owned domestic oil fields and due to the aging facilities at the plant.
The oil refinery situated in Ogata-ku, Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture, has been in production since 1963 and refined crude oil and condensate produced from Kubiki oil and gas field and the Minami Nagaoka gas field respectively.
INPEX will begin the decommissioning of the facilities at the refinery in April 2013 and will complete it by October 2013.
Thereafter, the company will sell crude oil from the domestic fields to the customers directly and will market petroleum products procured from other companies and will maintain a stable supply in Jo-Shinetsu area.
