Scheduled maintenance shutdown planned at 7 naphtha crackers in Japan in 2016

15-Jan-16

Seven naphtha crackers in Japan are set to be shut in 2016 for scheduled maintenance and other purposes, as per industry sources in Reuters. Asahi Kasei Chemicals will begin shutting down furnaces gradually from late February and the cracker will be shut completely sometime in March, a company spokeswoman said, before the cracker is officially scrapped in April. Asahi Kasei and Mitsubishi Chemical Corp have decided to integrate their two crackers in Mizushima, western Japan, from April by closing Asahi Kasei's cracker amid falling domestic demand and cheaper imports from Asia. The manufacturers include oil refiners Idemitsu Kosan Co and JX Nippon Oil & Energy, and Osaka Petrochemical Industries Ltd, a wholly-owned unit of Mitsui Chemicals. The Osaka cracker has no scheduled maintenance this year, but it is likely to be shut for about a month from mid- to late-June due to the shutdowns of derivatives-making lines, a spokesman for parent Mitsui Chemicals said. Keiyo Ethylene is 55% owned by Maruzen Petrochemical Co and 45% by Sumitomo Chemical Co. Asahi Kasei Chemicals is part of Asahi Kasei Corp. Maruzen Petrochemical is 40% owned by Cosmo Energy Holdings group. Tonen Chemical Corp is part of TonenGeneral Sekiyu group. Others are Showa Denko and Tosoh Corp. Mitsubishi will shut its 539000 tpa Kashima No.2 plant from around May 7 to end June Mitsui will shut its 612000 tpa Ichihara plant Osaka's 500,000 tpa is likely to be shut in June-July Idemitsu will shut its Tokuyama plant around Sept-Nov Maruzen will shut its 525000 tpa Chiba plant from early May-late June Tosoh will shut its 575000 tpa Yokkaichi plant from mid-March to mid-April Asahi will shut its 504000 tpa Mizushima plant permanently in March JX Nippon will shut its 443,000 tpa Kawasaki plant in Aug-Sept