In order to cope with the chronic shortage in the source of liquefied carbon dioxide gas, Ube Industries and Nippon Shokubai are planning to increase their production capacity of the gas. Nippon Ekitan who secured the right to take delivery of increased products from each source, has enhanced its yearly supply capacity by 66,000 tons.

The domestic gas source of carbon dioxide has been in a declining trend year after year, and the supply/demand imbalance is getting more and more serious. In addition to the decreasing crude gas yield in oil refineries as the main source due to the slump in demand for gasoline, there have been integrations and abolitions among the supply sources as well as a spate of the prolonged turnaround period. Particularly in summer of demand season it is getting difficult to secure availability.

Under such market circumstances, as mentioned before, Ube Industries built up a new liquefied CO2 plant to produce 80,000 tons/year in the Ube district to start operation from August 2013, while Nippon Shokubai is also going to construct a new plant to produce 32,000 tons/year in its Ukishima Factory of the Kawasaki district, with a scheduled start of operation in April 2014.

For these two plants, Nippon Ekitan has gained the right to take delivery of 50,000 tons per year from Ube Industries and also secured 16,000 tons equivalent to half of the entire production capacity for which Koatsu Gas Kogyo had obtained the right to take delivery from Nippon Shokubai Ukishima.

For the coming two years when the plants are put into operation, Nippon Ekitan’s annual supply capacity of liquefied CO2 gas will be enhanced by 66,000 tons, which is estimated by the company to correspond to about 10% of its annual sales amount.