A look back at Idemitsu's history, spanning nearly a century.
| Social Events | Year | History of Idemitsu |
|---|---|---|
| 1911 | Idemitsu Shokai is founded in Moji, Fukuoka Prefecture | |
| Beginning of WWI | 1914 | Sales route opened overseas (former Manchuria) |
| 1940 | Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. is established. | |
| Beginning of Pacic War | 1941 | |
| Signing of Potsdam Declaration, End of War | 1945 | Overseas branches closed, commencement of withdrawal. |
| Public oil distribution corporation established. | 1947 | 29 locations nationwide designated as official oil distributors and petroleum business resurrected. |
| Primary oil distributor system inaugurated/10 companies designated. | 1949 | Idemitsu is designated as primary oil distributor and initiates civil oil supply business as a private organization. |
| San Francisco Peace Treaty concluded. | 1951 | |
| 1952 | Idemitsu imports high-octane gasoline from the United States for sale under the name of Apollo Gasoline. | |
| 1953 | Idemitsu imports oil from Iran (Nissho Maru incident) | |
| 1957 | Construction of Tokuyama Refinery is completed. | |
| 1959 | First import of crude oil from Soviet Union. | |
| Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) formed. |
1960 | |
| 1961 | Apollo Service Co., Ltd. established. | |
| Petroleum Industry Law enacted. | 1962 | Idemitsu Tanker Co., Ltd. established. Nissho Maru, the world's first mammoth tanker (140,000 tons) enters service (3rd generation) |
| 1963 | Construction of Chiba Refinery completed. Idemitsu withdraws from the Petroleum Association of Japan (rejoined in October '66) |
|
| Tokyo Olympics | 1964 | Idemitsu Petroleum Co., Ltd. established (Merged with Idemitsu Kosan in August '04) Construction of Tokuyama Plant completed. |
| 1966 | Idemitsu Museum of Arts opens/Idemitsu Maru, world's first 200,000-ton tanker enters service.) | |
| 1967 | Construction of the world's first direct desulfurization unit is completed at Chiba Refinery. | |
| 1970 | Central Laboratory opened/Construction of Hyogo Oil Refinery completed (Production discontinued in April '03) |
|
| 1972 | Okinawa Sekiyu Seisei Co., Ltd. established (production discontinued in November '03). | |
| Beginning of 4th Middle East War (first oil crisis) |
1973 | Middle East Office established in Beirut as foothold in the Middle East. (Closed in December '75). First import of crude oil from China (Daqing)/Construction of Hokkaido Refinery completed. |
| 1975 | Construction of Chiba Plant and Aichi Refinery completed. | |
| Political instability in Iran (second oil crisis) |
1979 | |
| 1983 | Idemitsu Engineering Co., Ltd. established. | |
| Plaza Accord | 1985 | |
| The Provisional Measures Law on the Importation of Specific Petroleum Refined Products enacted |
1986 | Idemitsu New Gold Apollo Gasoline launched. |
| 1989 | Idemitsu Oil & Gas Co., Ltd. established. | |
| Beginning of Gulf War | 1991 | |
| United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) | 1992 | Construction of lubricant production plant in United States completed. Production begins in Snorre oil field in North Sea Norwegian territorial waters. |
| 1993 | Idemitsu Zearth and Super Zearth are launched. | |
| 1994 | Ensham coal mine opened in Australia. | |
| The Provisional Measures Law on the Importation of Specific Petroleum Refined Products abolished | 1996 | ISO9001 and ISO9002 accreditation acquired for all refineries and plants. Idemitsu Oita Geothermal Co., Ltd. commences operation of Takigami power plant. |
| The 3rd Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Kyoto Conference) | 1997 | |
| Self SS ban lifted. | 1998 | ISO14001 accreditation acquired for all refineries and plants. |
| 2000 | Idemitsu Unitec Co., Ltd, established. Preferred shares issued. |
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| Petroleum Industry Law abolished. | 2001 | |
| Invasion of Iraq by coalition forces. | 2003 | The Tokachi-oki earthquake triggers a tank fire at Hokkaido Refinery. |
| 2004 | Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. and Idemitsu Petrochemical Co., Ltd. are merged. | |
| 2006 | Listed in 1st Section of Tokyo Stock Exchange. |
