TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Maruzen Petrochemical, a unit of Cosmo Energy Holdings, will shut its ethylene unit in Chiba in the 2026/27 financial year and consolidate production at Keiyo Ethylene, its joint venture with Sumitomo Chemical, the companies said on Tuesday.
The move aims to enhance the utilization rate and competitiveness of Keiyo Ethylene, which is 55% owned by Maruzen Petrochemical and 45% by Sumitomo Chemical, the three companies said in a statement.
Japanese ethylene plants have been struggling with low operating rates due to global oversupply driven by large-scale capacity expansions in China, as well as declining domestic demand.
The industry also faces increasing pressure to achieve net-zero carbon emissions through energy transportation.
Against this backdrop, Maruzen Petrochemical and Sumitomo Chemical decided to optimize their ethylene production in the Chiba area, near Tokyo, to cut costs and maintain competitiveness, they said.
Maruzen’s Chiba ethylene unit, which started operations in 1969, has an annual production capacity of 525,000 metric tons. Keiyo Ethylene, launched in 1994, has a capacity of 768,000 tons per year.
Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan and Mitsui Chemicals plan to consolidate their ethylene complexes in Chiba, they said last year.
Ethylene is a petrochemical that is used to produce plastics such as polyethylene for items such as plastic bags and containers.
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Joe Bavier)
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