a chemical Week custom publication
japan petrochemical industry association
Moving Ahead to Face Challenges
and petrochemical complexes are not necessarily integrated, and have also faced challenges in terms of raw material procurement and energy efficiency. Recently, neighboring refineries and petrochemical plants have been integrating to form complexes that boost the competitiveness of both operations. We can expect this integration to progress to a high level through various types of mutual cooperation and joint technological development. Meanwhile, turning our attention to the issue of climate change, anti-global warming policies to succeed the Kyoto Protocol are being vigorously pursued around the world. What is most vital is to create a framework in which all of the major emitters of greenhouse gasses are able to participate, and in order to accomplish this, I believe we must formulate a flexible and diverse framework that takes into account the circumstances of each region. The most direct and effective contribution the Japanese chemical industry can make is by increasing energy efficiency. To date, we have reduced unit energy consumption by 18% compared to 1990 levels, but we are also aware that we must develop even more innovative technologies to achieve further energy savings, and have started activities for developing and propagating these technologies. Going forward, I am hopeful that these innovative technologies will spread throughout the world and help solve the problem of global warming.
In moving forward with these activities, it almost goes without saying that ensuring security and safety is one of the most important preconditions. At present, fostering a culture of security and safety, and building a management system that can make optimum use of such a culture is a part of the industry’s corporate social responsibility (CSR). For the industry’s sustainable development as well, the Japanese petrochemical industry should utilize the security and safety technologies and experience it has cultivated for half a century while seeking to introduce the latest scientific safety technologies to improve operational and facilities management techniques.
In order for the Japan Petrochemical Industry Association to contribute to the sound development of Asia’s petrochemical industry, we jointly hosted last year’s Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) 2007, which attracted over 1,000 participants and became a venue for the promotion of partnerships with the overseas petrochemical industry, associations and societies as well as the promotion of business opportunities among the participating countries and a vigorous exchange of information. This year we will jointly host APIC 2008 in Singapore in May, and expect this to present another valuable opportunity to promote business among participating countries and to exchange information.
Japan’s economy has continued its trend of prolonged growth against a backdrop of solid capital expenditure and strong exports, though the impact of factors such as the rising price of crude oil and the sub-prime loan problem have marked a lull in economic expansion.
Japan’s petrochemical industry has shown strong growth overall supported by firm demand both domestically and overseas. The impact of crude oil prices that continue to remain extremely high is a cause for concern, but for the time being, the present favorable climate is expected to continue.
Under these circumstances, I believe the most important challenges for the petrochemical industry are the following.
First, there is the challenge of strengthening the competitiveness of industrial complexes. For example, in Japan, refining
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