Nippon Oil to build up functional chemicals

Nippon Oil plans to strengthen its raw-material supply chain for its functional chemical products called Global Niche products. Worldwide sales of its Global Niche products have exceeded ¥20 billion (US$169 million) annually. The company produces ethylidene norbornene (ENB), a raw material for ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM), at a 20,000-tons-per-year plant in Kashima under an equally owned joint venture with Sanyo Chemical. EPDM is widely used as a material for automotive rubber parts, such as wiper blades and weather stripping, as it has high heat and weather resistance. Demand for ENB is expected to rise in line with an expanding EPDM market. Nippon Oil now produces at its Kawasaki plant 10,000 tons-per-year of dicyclopentadiene, a raw material for the manufacture of ENB and other products such as petroleum resin Neoresin. (December 14, 2006)