Japan's Idemitsu to restart fire-hit CDU this weekend

TOKYO Aug 1 (Reuters) - Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co will restart the fire-hit 220,000 barrels per day No.2 crude distillation unit (CDU) at its Chiba refinery, east of Tokyo, as early as this weekend, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The company had originally expected to resume CDU operations by Aug. 9. It expects to resume normal operations of its refining units at the refinery by Aug. 20, the source said.

The refinery's sole CDU was shut immediately after the fire was confirmed from near the CDU's naphtha circulation lines on July 19. Idemitsu said oil that leaked from an aperture in the pipeline led to the fire. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Michael Watson)