Tokyo - JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. said it would close its Muroran petrochemical facility in Japan because of fal-ling demand for gasoline in the country, Reuters re-ported.

The Muroran facility, which mainly produces feedstock for paraxylene, cumene and gasoline by-product, will discontinue production in March 2019 and will be converted to a terminal for storing and shipping oil products.

Muroran previously included a 180,000-b/d refinery, but was changed to a petrochemicals facility in 2014.  The refinery was owned by JX Holdings, which recently merged with TonenGeneral Sekiyu to create JXTG.

Muroran produced 430,000 t/y of the paraxylene feedstock in the year through March 2017, and 160,000 t/y of cumene.  The petrochemical products are ex-ported to Ulsan Aromatics in South Korea and JXTG said it will continue to supply Ulsan Aromatics from its other facilities in Japan.