Idemitsu Kosan to Restart Its Olefins Conversion Unit at Its Chiba Refinery

Idemitsu Kosan would soon restart its olefins conversion unit (OCU) at its Chiba refinery, which was shutdown due to a fire incident earlier this week.

“The fire occurred at the refinery on the morning of October 16, 2013,” a company official told fibre2fashion.

“The OCU is expected to be restarted by the end of next week,” the official added.

The OCU uses ethylene as a feedstock has Propylene production capacity of 150,000 mt/year.

Idemitsu Kosan holds 50 percent stake in the OCU, while Mitsui Chemicals and Sumitomo Chemical each hold a 25 percent stake.

Separately, the 219,000 mt/year benzene plant operated by Idemitsu Kosan at Tokuyama, also in Japan, is presently operating at 100 percent production capacity, the official informed.