JAPAN: Asahi Kasei, Mitsubishi detail plan for unifying Mizushima crackers

Each company currently has 500,000 t/y of ethylene capacity at the site. It has been determined that production will be unified on Mitsubishi's cracker, while Asahi Kasei's facility will be disposed of. Replacement of the main component of one of the compressors will increase capacity of Mitsubishi's cracker to 570,000 t/y without a maintenance turnaround.

The cracker will be operated under an equally-owned joint venture. The management personnel, paid-in capital and other details of the venture will be determined after further studies.

In 2011, the two companies established Nishi Nippon Ethylene as a limited liability partnership for the purpose of integrating and unifying the management and operations of their respective crackers in Mizushima, and in 2013, the partnership began studies for the unification.

The partners decided that since the operating climate in the Japanese market for petrochemical operations is expected to become increasingly severe, it was necessary to establish the optimum production configuration for highly efficient operation in order to strengthen competitiveness and enhance earnings ability.

Source: Weekly "PetroChemical News", Durham, NC, USA; 3 Mar 2014

(Syed Rashid Ali, Karachi, Pakistan)