Japan Petrochemicals Industry - Struggling to Recover from Tsunami Disaster

Japan Petrochemicals Industry - Struggling to Recover from Tsunami Disaster

Summary

Japan’s petrochemicals industry suffered a severe blow when the country was hit by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11 2011. Many petrochemicals complexes were immediately shut down, along with severely damaged nuclear plants and oil refineries in northeastern Japan. Nuclear emergency was declared in Japan after the explosion in the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Two months after the tsunami, the country’s petrochemicals industry is still recuperating from the damage caused by the disaster. Though the petrochemical complexes in southern Japan were undamaged and could potentially operate at normal rates they were indirectly affected because of feedstock shortages caused by the closure of crude oil refineries and naphtha crackers in the tsunami hit area. As petrochemicals production in Japan has decreased in the past two months, its exports will decrease significantly. This provides an opportunity for other Asian producers such as Korea, to increase their market.

Petrochemicals production is expected to remain low for at least one year because of inadequate power generation caused partly by the closure of all nuclear power plants on Japan’s Pacific coast. Crude oil refineries are also struggling to meet the increased demand in the reconstruction period. This will further aggravate the supply of the naphtha feedstock, crucial to petrochemicals production, which is already priced very high on the international market because of Middle East turmoil. The disaster has forced Japan to shift from nuclear power to other sources to supplement its energy requirement.

Scope

• Analyses the impact of tsunami on the country's petrochemical industry
• Presents the plants that were affected due to the disaster
• Discusses the infrastructure damage and its effect on the petrochemicals industry

Reasons to buy

• Understand the current situation of the petrochemical industry in Japan
• Formulate strategies based on the latest changes in the industry

Contents

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1 List of Tables
1.2 List of Figures

2 SUMMARY

3 JAPAN PETROCHEMICALS INDUSTRY

3.1 Closure of Petrochemical Complexes Due to Disaster Reduced Production
3.2 Damage to Crude Oil Refineries will Create Domestic Naphtha Shortage
3.3 Infrastructure Damage and Inadequate Power Supply is Hampering Output from Undamaged Plants
3.4 Shortage in Feedstock Supply and Rise in Petrochemicals Price Will Benefit Other Asian Producers
3.5 US and European Automotive Industry to Face Shortage in Auto Parts Supply
3.6 Conclusion

4 APPENDIX

4.1 Methodology
  4.1.1 Coverage
  4.1.2 Secondary Research
  4.1.3 Primary Research
  4.1.4 Expert Panel Validation
4.2 Contact Us
4.3 Disclaimer 6

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Petrochemicals Industry, Japan, Tsunami Affected Petrochemical Complex Details, 2011
Table 2: Petrochemicals Industry, Japan, Tsunami Affected Petrochemical Complex Details, 2011 (contd.)
Table 3: Japan Crude Oil Industry, Status of Tsunami Affected Refineries
Table 4: Japan Crude Oil Industry, Affected Refining Capacity
Table 5: Major Plastics Used in Auto Parts Manufacturing
Table 6: Major Plastics Used in Electronic Device Manufacturing 5

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Basic Petrochemicals Industry, China, Imports Share by Country, %, 2010 4 Skip to top