Unexpected refinery shutdowns spur gasoline, gasoil imports Gasoline import arbitrage window opened throughout 2018 Domestic spot supply tight as local refiners eye overseas market Tokyo — Japan remained a net oil product importer for the second year in a row in 2018 and is likely to remain an active product importer in 2019 as any unexpected refinery issues threaten to further squeeze domestic supplies, making the tight supply-demand balance even more fragile. Japan’s oil product imports averaged 621,009 b/d in 2018, with imports of both gasoline and gasoil more than doubling year on year, exceeding oil product exports of 522,736 b/d, according to data released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry data last week. Naphtha accounted for the majority of Japan’s oil product imports and were more or less unchanged year on year at […]