Maruzen Petrochemical Co. Ltd. President Masaru Nabeshima held a press conference in Tokyo on June 8 and provided information on the company’s five-year medium-term business plan for 2018–2022. The company...
petrochemical
Major Japanese Oil Distributors Ride Margin Growth to Increased Revenues, Profits
JXTG Holdings Inc. (TYO:5020), Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd. (TYO:5019) and Cosmo Energy Holdings Co. Ltd. (TYO:5021), three major Japanese oil distributors, have finalized their accounts for the fiscal year ending...
Ethylene Demand Appears Set to Outpace Slew of New Production Facilities
Petrochemical insiders around the globe are coming to the conclusion that the tight supply–demand balance for ethylene, a base ingredient for petrochemical products, will continue through into the first half...
Standstill Appears Set to Break on Vietnam’s Long Son Petrochemical Project
The Long Son petrochemical project in southern Vietnam has started to move forward again, driven by efforts from the Thai-based Siam Cement Group (SCG) to take control of the endeavor....
China’s Changxing Island to Become Major Petrochemical Hot Spot
A number of initiatives have begun to materialize for one of China’s seven major petrochemical hubs, Changxing Island, Dalian. One of these is a plan to launch a 2 million...
Vietnam’s Nghi Son Refinery to Start Shipments in April
The Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Vietnam is slated to begin shipping products and working on commercial operations this April. A joint venture between Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd....
Sumitomo Chemical Expands Asian Sales of Phase II Petro Rabigh Products
Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (TYO:4005) has begun full-scale sales in the Asia-Pacific region for products from the Phase II complex of Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co., an affiliated company based...
ExxonMobil Floats Large-Scale Petrochemical Plan in Thailand
U.S. oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. is looking at building a major petrochemical complex in Thailand. Following a meeting with ExxonMobil executives, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak told local...
Benzene Supply Set to Remain Tight in Asia
Benzene supply is likely to remain tight in Asia, driven in part by continuing strong demand for benzene derivatives such as styrene monomer (SM). Overall global demand for benzene is...
Mitsubishi Chemical Plans Multipurpose Facilities to Commercialize Unused Fractions
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. is set to establish new facilities in order to commercialize unused fractions produced by petrochemical processes. Current plans are looking at the company’s Mizushima Plant as a...
Interview: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries CEO Shunichi Miyanaga Discusses Strategy, Market Outlook
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (TYO:7011) has been busy of late, working to put itself in a position where it can stay ahead of the market. The Chemical Daily recently talked...
Reliance Looks to Diversify Petrochemical Operations
Reliance Industries Ltd. is considering making an entry into new petrochemical businesses, with targets including the acetyl chain, oxo alcohols, methyl methacrylate (MMA) and benzene derivatives such as the phenol...
Mitsubishi Chemical to Lay out Framework for Future of Japan’s Petrochemical Industry
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. has begun drawing up a framework for the future of petrochemicals in Japan. With all the different parties invested in Japan’s petrochemical complexes, the varying interests of...
Asia’s Petrochemical Market Appears Set for Another Strong Year in 2018
The petrochemical market in Asia appears set to continue its strong run this year. Numerous market insiders believe that synthetic resin demand will rise in China and Southeast Asian countries....
METI Launches Study Group on Boosting Oil Industry Competitiveness
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) recently held the first meeting of a panel of experts convened to study the competitiveness of the oil industry. Two central topics...
Naphtha Prices Shift Upward as Crude Oil Market Reverses
The tide continues to change for the pricing of naphtha, a raw material for petrochemicals that has been strongly influenced of late by a historic depreciation of crude oil. The...
Interview: PTTGC COO Patiparn Sukorndhaman Discusses Plans for Southeast Asia
Thailand’s PTT Global Chemical PCL (PTTGC) has shown strong business performance of late. The company’s chief operating officer, Patiparn Sukorndhaman, recently sat down with The Chemical Daily to talk about...
China and Venezuela to Resume Major Petrochemical Project in Guangdong This Year
China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) and Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) will resume an integration project for large-scale oil refining and petrochemical operations in Jieyang, Guangdong Province. The massive initiative,...
Itochu Targets Expansion in US Polyethylene Trading
Itochu Corp. (TYO:8001) plans to expand its trading of polyolefins in the U.S market. With shale-based petrochemical projects in the country set to begin full-scale operations from this year onward,...
Industry Outlook 2018: Petrochemical
Japan’s petrochemical market is in the midst of booming conditions like never before. Ethylene facilities over these past two years have been operating at a utilization rate in excess of...
