UPDATE 1-Exxon Mobil Japan group refinery shut after fire

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TOKYO, July 2 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) Japan group oil refiner TonenGeneral Sekiyu's (5012.T) 156,000 barrels per day Sakai refinery in western Japan has been ordered shut since Tuesday evening after a fire, the local fire department said on Wednesday.

The fire, thought to have occurred due to an oil leak near the refinery's sole 156,000 bpd crude distillation unit (CDU), was extinguished relatively quickly but the incident prompted a suspension order on the CDU, a fire department official said.

As a result of the order, all of the refining operations at the Sakai plant have been shut, the official said.

He did not know when the plant would resume operations, and said the damage did not appear to be major.

If the suspected cause was confirmed, suspension orders in similar cases were typically lifted in about a week, he said.

A Tokyo-based TonenGeneral spokesman said the company was trying to minimise the impact on shipments from the refinery. (Reporting by Osamu Tsukimori)