Japan walks tightrope to keep ethylene plants running amid Middle East crisis

Mitsubishi Chemical's Ibaraki plant in Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, which produces ethylene and other petrochemical products
| JIJI
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Major Japanese chemical makers are working desperately to avoid halting factories for ethylene, a material for plastics and synthetic fibers, amid the ongoing Middle East crisis.Ethylene production facilities take over a month to restart once suspended, so manufacturers are reducing output instead to keep their plants running.They are trying to procure naphtha, a crude oil-based material used in ethylene production, from regions other than the Middle East, while passing on higher costs in the form of higher prices in order to maintain profitability from continued plant operations.

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