Message from the Executive Officer

Based on the forecast that oil demand in FY2030 will be about 20% lower than in FY2022, we have decided to cease the refining functions of Seibu Oil Co., Ltd. in March 2024. Looking ahead, we will continue to review our refineries and complexes and strengthen competitiveness (cost reduction and efficiency improvement) while keeping an eye on future changes in the environment to ensure a stable supply of petroleum products and petrochemicals, which are important energy and materials.

The Group’s refineries and complexes have been working together with the support of local communities over many years. Our accumulated knowledge, experience, technological capabilities, and existing infrastructure will be a valuable asset in our efforts toward carbon neutrality by 2050. On the other hand, we have built longstanding relationships of trust with our partners, including governments in many countries and regions in the Middle East and the Pacific Rim, through various businesses, including the import of fossil energy sources. Based on these important assets and relationships of trust, we will promote business innovation to CNX_​ ^* Centers that are suited to the characteristics of each refinery and business site from a menu of hydrogen, ammonia, biomass, resource recycling, carbon dioxide fixation, and synthetic fuel, in cooperation with various governmental agencies, local governments, and related companies in Japan and overseas.

While continuing to provide a stable supply of petroleum products and petrochemicals, we will steadily and swiftly advance the establishment of CNX Centers and continue to support the mobility, energy, and livelihood of the people of the region, both now and into the future.

We established Advanced Materials Company in July 2022 to respond to the changing business environment and to develop and manage strategies that take a bird's-eye view of all related businesses.

Currently, we are working to materialize three focus areas ^* in our Functional materials business, with the aim of provide for society the "Diverse resource conservation / circulation solutions" that are set out in Medium-term Management Plan as business areas leading up to 2050. In these three focus areas, we will combine the technologies we have cultivated thus far, such as "organic and inorganic synthesis," "photo-electrochemistry," and "bioconversion technology," and will strongly promote various external collaborations that will generate technological innovation, including comprehensive initiatives with academia and investment in startups.

In order to ensure steady profits and cash flow in existing businesses, we have reviewed unprofitable businesses and consolidated production, laying the foundation for promoting new business development.

Going forward, we will further accelerate our efforts to transform our portfolio, including new businesses, and strive to become a robust business entity that can maintain and expand profits even in the face of drastic changes in the business environment.