Cosmo Oil Company

Cosmo Oil Company, Limited (コスモ石油株式会社, Kosumo Sekiyu kabushiki gaisha) is a Japanese petrochemical company. It is Japan's third-biggest refiner by sales after JX Holdings and Idemitsu Kosan.[2]

Cosmo Energy Holdings Co., Ltd.
Native name
コスモエナジーホールディングス株式会社
Kosumo Enajī Hōrudingusu kabushiki gaisha
TypePublic KK
TYO: 5021
IndustryOil and gas
Foundedmerger of Maruzen Petroleum and Daikyo Petroleum
(April 1, 1986 (1986-04-01))
HeadquartersShibaura, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Key people
Yaichi Kimura
(Chairman)
Keizo Morikawa
(President and CEO)
Products
ServicesFilling stations
RevenueIncrease JPY 3,537 billion (FY 2013) (US$ 34.3 billion) (FY 2013)
Increase JPY 4.34 billion (FY 2013) (US$ 42.1 million) (FY 2013)
OwnerInfinity Alliance Limited (20.76%)
Number of employees
1,837 (consolidated, as of March 31, 2014)
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[1]

History

Cosmo traces its corporate roots to Maruzen Petroleum (丸善石油株式会社), a company established in 1931, although the oil business operated by Maruzen was originally established by Zenzo Matsumura in Kobe in 1907.

Cosmo Oil Company was formed on April 1, 1986, through the merger of Maruzen Petroleum and Daikyo Petroleum, a group of oil businesses based in Niigata Prefecture, which merged in 1939.

A major fire occurred at the Cosmo refinery in Ichihara, as a result of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.[3][4][5] It was extinguished after ten days, injuring six people and destroying storage tanks[6] The ultimate cause was traced to the collapse of supports for LPG Tank 364, which had been filled with water and undergoing hydrostatic testing at the time the earthquake struck. The collapse fractured LPG pipes, releasing gas that then ignited, in turn igniting LPG in several adjacent tanks.[7]

In February 2015, the company said it will reorganize itself under a holding company to boost profitability.[2] Also in 2015, in March, Cosmo Oil formed an LPG joint-venture, by merging its LPG business with three other company's LPG units. The new company, named Gyxis Corporation, started effective operations on April 1, 2015.[8] Along Cosmo, the other three shareholding companies are Showa Shell Sekiyu, TonenGeneral Sekiyu, and Sumitomo Corporation, all with 25% of the ownership.[9]

Refineries

Cosmo operates three refineries, all of which are located in Japan:[10]

  • Ichihara, Chiba (former Maruzen refinery): 220,000 barrels per day (35,000 m3/d)
  • Yokkaichi, Mie (former Daikyo refinery): 175,000 barrels per day (27,800 m3/d)
  • Sakai, Osaka (former Maruzen refinery): 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m3/d)

In August 2012, the company announced that it will close its Sakaide plant in southwest Japan.[11] The refinery, which was closed and turned into an oil terminal in July 2013,[10] was a former Asia Oil refinery with a capacity of 120,000 barrels per day (19,000 m3/d).

  • Explosion and fire at Cosmo refinery in Ichihara, Chiba, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake
    Explosion and fire at Cosmo refinery in Ichihara, Chiba, following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake
  • A Cosmo service station in Taitō
    A Cosmo service station in Taitō
  • A Cosmo LPG truck
    A Cosmo LPG truck
  • An aerial view north-west of the Port of Chiba (Cosmo Chiba refinery seen left of the river mouth)
    An aerial view north-west of the Port of Chiba (Cosmo Chiba refinery seen left of the river mouth)

See also

References
  1. "Company Profile". Cosmo Oil. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  2. Tsukimori, Osamu (5 February 2015). Sheldrick, Aaron; Nair, Sunil (eds.). "Japan's Cosmo Oil to set up holding firm in Oct". Reuters Africa. Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  3. "Japan earthquake causes oil refinery inferno". The Daily Telegraph. London. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on March 13, 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  4. "Natural gas storage tanks burn at Cosmo oil refinery in Ichihara city". Reuters AlertNet. Thomson Reuters. 11 March 2011. Archived from the original on 14 March 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  5. Watkins, Eric (11 March 2011). "After 8.9 quake, explosion hits pchem complex in Japan". Oil & Gas Journal. Los Angeles: PennWell Corporation. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  6. "LPG Tanks Fire Extinguished at Chiba Refinery (5th Update)". Cosmo Oil. 21 March 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  7. Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd. (2011-08-02). "Overview of the Fire and Explosion at Chiba Refinery, the Cause of the Accident and the Action Plan to Prevent Recurrence". Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  8. "Japanese Companies Pool LPG Sectors". World Maritime News. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  9. Crystal Chan (12 March 2015). "Four Japanese companies form an LPG importer". IHS Maritime 360. IHS Inc. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  10. "Japan's Cosmo Oil to permanently shut Sakaide refinery in July '13". ICIS. Reed Business Information. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  11. Tsukimori, Osamu (28 August 2012). Watson, Michael (ed.). "Japan's Cosmo to close Sakaide refinery in July 2013". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
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