In the FY2018 Safety and Safety Assurance Advisory Committee, we consulted on the "Efforts to achieve advanced safety assurance equivalent to Super-certification*" and received the reply that "Upgrading of risk assessment and strengthening of facility manage-ment and operation management by utilizing advanced technologies are important points." Based on this, the Tokuyama Plant obtained Super-certification in FY2019. The Chiba Plant also underwent an on-site inspection and applied.
In FY2019, we consulted the Committee as "Efforts to deal with increasingly severe natural disasters" and received the reply. We will consider and respond to it in the future.
The Group 's refineries and complexes have worked to strengths its measures for natural disasters. As for earthquakes, we have constantly assessed the earthquake resistance of our equipment based on the standards required by laws against the expected earthquake magnitudes, and strengthen them, if necessary. In addition, having learned lessons from the Tokachi-oki Earthquake in 2003 and others, we have assessed and enhanced the earthquake resistance of our facilities against expected earthquake magnitudes that exceed the standards required by laws.
Following the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, laws concerning high-pressure gas equipment were tightened and the standards of earthquake resistance were reviewed. In response to these changes, we have been systematically reinforcing the spherical tanks that store LPG at the Group’s refineries and complexes in order to improve the earthquake resistance of their support structures. In addition, Yokkaichi Refinery of Showa Yokkaichi Oil Co., Ltd. reinforced its marine jetty with a view to strengthening disaster response capabilities. Going forward, we will consider further enhancing the earthquake resistance of the the Group’s refineries and complexes.
In February, 2020, we deployed a new disaster prevention vehicle to improve the disaster prevention capacity of the Tokyo Oil Terminal. Equipped with a "seawater-based fire-fighting irrigation system", to secure the water supply, this vehicle can use seawater to reach 4000ℓ/min (equivalent to conventional fire pumps) when underground water is unable to be used due to disaster such as an earthquake below the city.
We will continue to work to improve disaster prevention capabilities everywhere we operate.