Japan's ethylene production in July rose 14.6% from June to 553,400 mt, and was up 2.1% on the year, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Thursday.
The steep month-on-month increase in output was attributed to two steam crackers returning from their maintenance shutdowns in July.
Mitsubishi Chemical has on July 1, restarted its No. 2 naphtha-fed steam cracker at Kashima from a turnaround that started May 9. The No. 2 cracker is able to produce 526,000 mt/year of ethylene and 260,000 mt/year of propylene. And Keiyo Ethylene restarted its naphtha-fed steam cracker at Chiba in late June, from a scheduled maintenance that began May 11. The Chiba cracker can produce 700,000 mt/year of ethylene and 400,000 mt/year of propylene.
Japan's ethylene output figure could further increase in August, with another steam cracker having restarted from its turnaround in early August.
Mitsui Chemicals has restarted its naphtha-fed steam cracker at Sakai, western Japan early August after it was shut on June 20 for maintenance. The cracker is able to produce 500,000 mt/year of ethylene and 280,000 mt/year of propylene.
