JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. said Monday that its oil refinery in Yokohama, one of the largest in Japan, resumed production of gasoline and kerosene after operations were halted by the March 11 earthquake.
Officials at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that gasoline supplies, mainly in the greater Tokyo area, will likely return to normal in a few days.
Active measures are also being taken to ship more gasoline to northeastern Japan, which was hit hardest by the 9-magnitude quake.
In response to a government request for oil companies to mobilize 300 tank trucks to deliver much-needed gasoline and other petroleum products to the quake survivors taking refuge in shelters in the freezing weather in the Tohoku region, 130 vehicles had been sent by Sunday.
Japan Freight Railway Co. resumed transport of fuel, including gasoline, from the Tokyo area to the region on Friday.
Idemitsu Kosan Co., another major oil producer, began drawing down inventories Monday at its facility in Aomori Prefecture to ship 300 kiloliters of diesel oil and other petroleum products per day.