OREANDA-NEWS. January 18, 2013. Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo / Paid in Capital: 107.2 bn JPY / President: Keizo Morikawa) and Hyundai Oilbank (President: Kwon, Oh-gap) have been conducting test operations of the new para-xylene (hereinafter, PX) production plant though the joint venture company, HCP. (news release on November 15, 2012)

The company is pleased to announce that production have commenced 5 months in advance of the original schedule and the first shipment have been made on January 18, 2013.

Photo of PX shipment from the new berth at Daesan Refinery.
Mechanical Completion Date November 13, 2012
First Shipment Date January 18, 2013
Production Capacity PX: 800 kt/yr,  BZ: 120 kt/yr

HCP has a total production capacity of 1,180 kt/yr of PX (including 380 kt/yr from the existing facility) and 250 kt/yr of BZ (including 130 kt/yr from the existing facility)

PX is the raw material for producing polyester (polyester is used for making clothing, PET resin, etc). Polyester demand is expected to grow steadily backed by the increasing population and economic development in Asia with China being the core.
 Cosmo will supply mixed-xylene, which is extracted from the gasoline fraction to manage the declining domestic demand for gasoline, as feedstock for the new PX Unit and further enhance business profitability in the petrochemicals field.