A year after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, the country’s petrochem industry continues to struggle on the recovery path, as the sector grapples with production disruptions, especially in aromatics, as per Platts. A key supplier of isomer-grade mixed xylenes in Asia, the quake hit Japan saw a major disruption, with the shutdown of CM Aroma's 270,000 tpa MX plant at Chiba and JX Nippon Oil & Energy's 470,000 tpa MX plant at Sendai. A restart planned by JX at the end of March 2012 seems unlikely as the company is said to be seeking around 5,000-10,000 mt of MX for delivery in March. The current purchase may not be able to help ease the current isomer-MX supply tightness in Asia by the end of Q1-2012, something that the market had been expecting. With JX buying March cargoes, the balance is tight. Moreover, with the gasoline season starting in April, it is most likely that MX supply from JX will resume only in H2 2012. The peak gasoline demand season usually runs from April to June/July and JX is likely to retain isomer-MX in its gasoline pool rather than offer it for spot sale.
13-Mar-12 
