Idemitsu at a glance

Here are some quick facts and figures about Idemitsu.

Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. was founded in Moji, Kita-Kyushu in 1911 under the name of Idemitsu Shokai, engaging in oil distribution. Later the Company changed its corporate name to the current Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., in 1940.

Since its foundation, Idemitsu has worked hard under the fundamental principle of social contribution through its business, always maintaining respect for human beings in carrying out business operations. During its 97-year history, the Company has established firm business foundations encompassing oil refining, petroleum products and petrochemicals, and it has endeavored to provide a stable supply of energy, along with the products, technology and services expected by consumers.

In the Company’s mainstay petroleum products sector, the Company has striven to reinforce its competitiveness through improvements to facility efficiency, creation of business alliances in refining and distribution operations, and the integration of the refining of crude oil and petrochemical production. Furthermore, in the petrochemical sector, the Company has worked to differentiate its business by complementing its basic chemical products with a stronger presence in the area of high-performance products such as performance chemicals and engineering plastics. In addition to these endeavors, the Company engages in resource businesses such as oil exploration and coal, as well as in businesses that leverage Idemitsu’s proprietary technologies in electronic materials and agricultural biotechnology.

Following the fundamental principle created at its foundation, the Idemitsu Group will make every effort to further improve corporate value by offering top-quality products, technology and services. Against this backdrop, Idemitsu will aim to become an open company that will gain the trust of shareholders, customers and local communities, while contributing to society through sustainable growth.

The Company refines crude oil imported mainly from oil producing countries in the Middle East at refineries, and produces and sells familiar products such as gasoline and kerosene as wll as fuel products such as diesel oil and heavy fuel oil mainly used for industrial purposes.
The petroleum products division is the Company's core business, of which sales account for 3/4 of total sales. The refineries that purify crude oil and produce petroleum products are evenly spread across four areas (Tomakomai-shi, Hokkaido; Ichihara-shi, Chiba Prefecture; Chita-shi, Aichi Prefecture; and Shunan-shi, Yamaguchi Prefecture). The total refining capacity is 640,000 barrels per day (1 barrel = 159ℓ). In sales activities, approximately 4,700 service stations under Idemitsu brand name are located throughout Japan.
At the Company's service stations, many customers use the idemitsu Card Mydo Plus, a highly popular card that has no annual membership fees and allows cardholders to receive a ¥2 discount per liter of gasoline and diesel oil.

The petrochemical products division manufactures and sells basic chemicals including ethylene and propylene, engineering plastics such as polycarbonate, performance chemicals including ADAMANTATE™, and plastic processed products.
Polycarbonate is a plastic that exhibits superior impact strength and is used in office automation machinery exterior, LCD panels, optic discs, etc. ADAMANTATE™ is used as a photoresist material (photoreceptor) for semiconductor manufacturing.
One characteristic of the Company's petrochemical products division is that its petrochemical plants (Chiba and Tokuyama Plant) are adjoined with oil refineries, which enables an integrated production from petroleum refining to petrochemical products.

Petrochemicals

The oil exploration and production division is promoting exploration, development, and production project for petroleum and natural gas in Norway and Southeast Asia mainly in Vietnam. Since the acqusition of the Snorre oilfield in 1989, exploration and development in Norway has been progressing smoothly with a daily production of 31,000 barrels (fiscal2007), and is securing stable profit against a backdrop of the high price of crude oil in recent years.
In addition, an overseas subsidiary was established in the UK in Februaly 2007. Reserve and production will be expanded from a mid- to long-term perspective by promoting the oil exploration business not just in Norway and Vietnam, but also in the British North Sea.

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As an energy resource business independent of oil exploration and development, the Company is engaged in not only coal mining (Australia), uranium project (Canada), and geothermal energy (Oita Prefecture), but also in the electronic material business including development and manufacturing of organic electroluminescent devices and transparent electrode materials.
In coal mining, the Company possesses four operating coalmines in Australia, and produced approximately 10 million tons per year in fiscal 2007.
Concerning uranium, the Company is participating in the uranium mine development project with interest in the Cigar Lake Mine of Canada.
The organic electroluminescent material developed by the Company is an essential luminescence material in the development of next-generation displays that are significantly thinner than LCD, and is supplied to display manufacturers throughout the world. It is also expected to be utilized for "lighting" as an alternative for fluorescent lights.

Kazuhisa Nakano, President