Under its Fifth Consolidated Medium-term Management Plan, which calls for promotion of the fuel-to-chemical business, Idemitsu has made progress on installation of new equipment at the Aichi Refinery. The Aichi Refinery recently completed and began commercial operation of its mixed xylene equipment. With production capacity of 170,000 t/year, this equipment not only will contribute to expansion of the petrochemical business but also will enable us to flexibly deal with changing supply and demand trend of petroleum products and petrochemical raw materials.

Xylene is used widely as a base raw material in products commonly used in everyday living, such as polyester textiles and PET plastic bottles. Plans call for selling it chiefly in Asian markets, where demand is booming (with growth of 5%/year).