Maruzen Petrochemical's Chiba naphtha cracking unit will be permanently shut down in late November.

By SKYSEVEN Chemical Technical Team · 2026-11-09

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Market news indicates that the naphtha steam cracking unit at Maruzen Petrochemical's Chiba site is scheduled for permanent shutdown in late November, a disclosure made public through Japanese trade channels on November 4–5.

This cracking unit has an annual ethylene production capacity of 490,000 tons and annual propylene production capacity of 278,000 tons, and also produces by-items such as butadiene and aromatic hydrocarbons. It is a key olefin production unit within Japan's Chiba petrochemical cluster. The shutdown is part of the implementation of the Chiba-region ethylene capacity optimization plan previously agreed upon by Maruzen Petrochemical and Sumitomo Chemical. After the self-owned cracking unit is retired, all of Maruzen Petrochemical's olefin raw materials will be supplied by the cracking unit of their joint venture, Keiyo Ethylene, which will enhance the operating rate and overall competitiveness of the joint facility through capacity levels.

The core reasons to this permanent shutdown include continuously weak olefin gross margins, high operating costs due to aging facilities, and the impact of new olefin production capacities from the Middle East and China in the region. Japan's domestic ethylene sector is in a period of continuous structural restructuring, with multiple companies successively eliminating small-scale, high-cost aging cracking assets and concentrating production capacity in a few extensive integrated joint venture facilities.

Market analysis believes that the retirement of this unit will slightly minimize Japan's domestic ethylene supply, which might support the olefin supply and demand in Northeast Asia in the short term. However, with a substantial number of low-cost new production capacities continuously being put into operation in the region, the prolonged pattern of loose olefin supply in Asia is difficult to reverse. Maruzen Petrochemical's downstream supporting facilities will rely on the stable supply from Keiyo Ethylene to maintain healthy production of downstream derivatives.

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