A light naphtha reformer run by Idemitsu, located inside Idemitsu's Chiba refinery complex in eastern Japan, which was shut in 1999, is to be restarted on Sept. 1. The reformer, with a capacity to produce 250,000 tpa of benzene will use 400,000 tpa of light naphtha as feedstock. The reformer has been shut since the past 6-7 years due to low margins, and the restart comes amid rising demand for benzene.
However, this additional supply is not expected to impact the naphtha market largely, atleast this year, as increased naphtha supply will be offset by Idemitsu's scheduled maintenance of its 623,000 tpa naphtha cracker, Tokuyama, from September 15 to October 20.
Mitsui and Sumitomo will each receive 125,000 tpa of benzene to expand their business at the adjoining production sites in Chiba area, while Idemitsu will take the remaining by-products such as crude toluene.
28-Aug-06 
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