Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals to cut phenol output capacity

Japanese petrochemical firm Mitsui Chemicals will permanently shut one of its phenol production units at its Ichihara plant in east Japan's Chiba prefecture by the April 2026-March 2027 fiscal year at the latest.

Mitsui Chemicals decided to scrap the 190,000 t/yr phenol, acetone and a-methylstyrene production unit at the Ichihara plant, part of its plan to optimize its basic petrochemical businesses. The company cited oversupply of phenols in Asia, especially from China, the launch of new plants from 2022, as well as shrinking domestic demand.

But the company will continue phenol production at its plants in west Japan's Osaka prefecture and Shanghai in China.

Mitsui Chemicals has attempted to shift to low-carbon production, while promoting optimization of its manufacturing sites. The company has generated phenol from biomass-based naphtha, with its first delivery in February 2022. It also agreed to sell its subsidiary Singapore Mitsui Phenol Singapore to UK petrochemical producer Ineos in August 2022.

By Nanami Oki