Mitsubishi Chemical says it plans Matsuyama plant supplies Japanese pro-to cease production of puri- ducers of polyester fibers and films. All fied terephthalic acid (PTA) and of the Mizushima p-xylene unit output para-xylene in Japan with the closure of supplies the Matsuyama PTA facility. two plants next year. The company will “We have taken various steps toward permanently close a 100,000-m.t./year rationalization from every perspective,” p-xylene unit at Mizushima, Japan in May Mitsubishi says. “However, we concluded 2010 and a 250,000-m.t./year PTA plant at that there are no prospects of restoring Matsuyama, Japan in December 2010. profitability.” Mitsubishi says it will con-
Mitsubishi says its Japanese PTA busi- tinue production of isophthalic acid at the ness is losing money because of falling Matsuyama site.
demand in the domestic market. The Mitsubishi says it plans to base its PTA
The Chinese government says it has approved a recently announced stimulus plan to boost the country’s petrochemical and chemical industry, and generate demand for petchem products. The announcement follows an executive meeting of the country’s State Council on February 19.
The package includes measures such as less burdensome tax policies and more credit access for petchem firms. It also features measures to guarantee the supply of fertilizers and push forward technological innovation, as well as accelerate construction of major petchem plants, the government says. The government did
not say how it plans to boost demand for petchem products. Financial details of the stimulus plan were not disclosed, but the official China Daily newspaper reported in January that the package would be worth Rmb500 billion ($73.1 billion) and that it would include an investment of Rmb400 billion to establish 20 large-scale petchem plants.
The package includes provisions to control production capacity in some sectors of the petchem industry by restricting investment projects. The state says it will not approve any more chemical projects based on feedstocks such as coke and calcium carbide. —DEEPTI RAMESH
THE END OF THE LINE: PTA production will cease at Mitsubishi’s Matsuyama unit by the end of next year.
production outside Japan and that it will relocate part of the headquarters of its PTA business from Japan to Singapore and India by year-end. The company makes the product in four other Asian countries. It has majority stakes in PTA joint ventures at Haldia, India; Ningbo, China; and Merak, Indonesia; as well as a 40% share in the Samnam Petrochemical jv, which makes PTA at Yeosu, Korea.
Mitsubishi says it has a total of 4. 5 million m.t./year of PTA capacity including the Matsuyama plant and 100% of the jv capacities. Mitsubishi was due to complete a project to add 800,000 m.t./year of PTA capacity at Haldia by the end of last month, increasing PTA output at the Haldia site to almost 1. 3 million m.t./year. Merak, Ningbo, and Yeosu have 640,000 m.t./year; 600,000 m.t./year; and 1. 7 million m.t./year, respectively. —IAN YOUNG
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