Why did Japan fail to destroy Pearl Harbor’s oil-storage facilities?

The Japanese military failed to destroy the oil-storage facilities at Pearl Harbor because their planners did not prioritize them as targets. Instead, the Japanese focused their efforts on military objectives, specifically the destruction of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.12

This oversight is widely considered a significant tactical blunder. According to U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz, the destruction of these forward-deployed fuel reserves would have severely hampered the U.S. Navy's war-making capacity and potentially prolonged the war by two years. By neglecting these logistical assets, the Japanese left the base's ability to support and repair the fleet largely intact, which ultimately aided the United States in its recovery and long-term war effort.12