Nippon Oil to close unprofitable cyclohexane unit

26 July 2007 11:27  [Source: ICIS news]

TOKYO (ICIS news)--Nippon Oil plans to stop production of cyclohexane at its Kawasaki facility next year and start selling more benzene because the former was no longer profitable, a spokesman from the Japanese refiner said on Thursday.

 

The 50,000 tonne/year cyclohexane unit would be shut in August 2008 and the company would increase sales of benzene by 40,000 tonnes/year starting in October of that year, it added.

 

The company’s cyclohexane business was becoming unprofitable primarily because competitors had increased their plants’ capacities, the spokesman said, adding that by selling more benzene it hoped to increase its competitive edge.

 

Nippon Oil held the biggest share of the benzene market in Asia, selling 690,000 tonnes in fiscal 2006, which amounted to 6.8% of the total, said the spokesman.

 

Nippon Oil produces a total of 1.14m tonnes/year of benzene.

 

GS Caltex, a South Korean chemicals producer, was the second biggest producer of benzene in Asia, he said.

 

Cyclohexane is made from benzene and it is a feedstock of nylon. Nippon oil started producing the product in Kawasaki in 1991.

By: Tomomi Yokomura
+65 6780 4359

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