The oil refinery industry in Japan is finding itself in a chronic surplus of facilities due to the drop in the demand for gasoline.

Based on a new legislative bill requiring an abolishment of facilities for oil refinery industry in Japan, at the end of March Idemitsu Kosan and Tonen General Sekiyu began a round of reduction of facility capacity. Refineries are also a source of liquid carbon dioxide, leading to fears of an effect on the production of liquid carbon dioxide and dry ice.

On March 30, Idemitsu Kosan announced that as of April 1 it would reduce the capacity of the atmospheric distillation column at its refinery in Chiba by 20,000 barrels a day. On the following day, March 31, Tonen General Oil applied to the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry to enable it to reduce the nameplate production capacity of the atmospheric distillation column at its Kawasaki plant by 10,000 barrels a day. This was approved.

The liquid carbon dioxide of the Idemitsu plant at Chiba is a source of carbon dioxide for Kokusai Tansan, a group company of Nippon Ekitan. The Tonen General Oil plant at Kawasaki will become the source for the new plant which Air Water Carbonic is now constructing. This does not mean that the source will be decreased right away after the announcement by the 2 companies but what will be happening needs to be watched very carefully.