Showa Shell curbs crude refining amid slack demand

TOKYO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Showa Shell Sekiyu KK (5002.T) cut its crude refining for January by 170,000 kilolitres (about 34,500 barrels per day), or 7 percent, from its original plan, to 2.35 million kl (about 477,000 bpd), the third Japanese refiner to do so amid slack domestic demand. Showa Shell, Japan's fifth-biggest oil refiner, also plans to export 80,000 kl of gasoline and 100,000 kl of jet fuel in January-February, a company spokesman said on Monday. Japan's top oil refiner Nippon Oil Corp (5001.T) and fourth-biggest Cosmo Oil Co (5007.T) last week announced similar plans to cut crude refining. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori; Editing by Mike Miller)