About us (Taiyo Oil)
History
Earliest days
From the establishment of Aoki Sekiyu, the antecedent company, until the establishment of Taiyo Oil
| Events in the oil industry and in society | Year | Month | Events concerning Taiyo Oil |
| Ford Model T advertisement | 1908 (Meiji 41) |
September | The late Shigekichi Aoki, the founder, established Aoki Sekiyu in Takaoka Town, Kochi Prefecture (currently Tosa city). |
| 1915 (Taisho 4) |
February | Relocated to Yawatahama City in Ehime Prefecture | |
| End of the First World War | 1918 (Taisho 7) |
― | Kerosene production was started from the materials supplied by Rising Sun's Kyushu-Saitozaki Oil Refinery. |
| Great Kanto Earthquake | 1923 (Taisho 12) |
August | Started to refine oil in a Hickman Distillation (Method) Unit. |
| Impact of the Great Depression being felt in Japan (the Repeal of the Gold Embargo) | 1930 (Showa 5) |
May | Renamed as Aoki Sekiyu Co., Ltd. Capital of JPY 20 thousand. |
| The National Mobilization Law was legislated | 1938 (Showa 13) |
October | The factory was relocated to Kameoka Village in Ochi-gun, Ehime Prefecture (the current site of Shikoku Operations). |
| Outbreak of War in the Pacific | 1941 (Showa 16) |
February | The refinery sections of Aoki Sekiyu, Mikado Seiyu, and Matsuoka Sekiyu were integrated into Taiyo Oil Co., Ltd. The head office was established in Mita-toyooka, Shiba-ku, Tokyo. Capital of JPY 1 million. |
| The Petroleum Monopoly Law was legislated | 1943 (Showa 18) |
July | The head office was relocated to Yawatahama City in Ehime prefecture. The capital increased to JPY 4 million. |
Postwar recovery period
Full-scale independent production activities began during this period.
| Events in the oil industry and in society | Year | Month | Events concerning Taiyo Oil |
| The value of the yen was fixed at ¥360 per US$1 | 1949 (Showa 24) |
December | GHQ allowed reopening of refineries on the Pacific Coast. Construction of facilities for crude oil distillation was started. |
| The Treaty of San Francisco and the US-Japan Security Treaty were signed in San Francisco | 1951 (Showa 26) |
February | Permission was granted to refine petroleum. An order from Shell Sekiyu was received, and a refinery with an output of 500 barrels/day was started. |
| The National Federation of Petroleum Commercial Associations (Zensekiren) was established. | 1953 (Showa 28) |
July | The capital increased to JPY 48 million. Taiyo Oil started to operate its own refinery. |
| The Arabian Oil Company, Ltd. was established. | 1958 (Showa 33) |
October | Soviet crude oil was imported to Japan for the first time. |
| The 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games The Tokaido Shinkansen Line opened, linking Tokyo and Shin Osaka |
1964 (Showa 39) |
June | The late Ryosaku Aoki became the second president. The capital increased to JPY 52 million. |
| September | Rumanian crude oil was imported to Japan for the first time. | ||
| November | The capacity of the crude distillation unit was confirmed to be 59,000 barrels/day. |
Growth period
The sophistication of refining operations on a full-scale basis began during this period.
| Events in the oil industry and in society | Year | Month | Events concerning Taiyo Oil |
| Beginning of the Izanagi economic boom of Japan | 1965 (Showa 40) |
September | The late Shigeyoshi Aoki became the third president. |
| Creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) | 1967 (Showa 42) |
July | The capital increased to JPY 100 million. |
| The Environmental Agency issued its first "White Paper on the Environment." The Apollo 11 space flight landed the first humans on Earth's Moon. The Tomei Expressway opened. |
1969 (Showa 44) |
April | Taiyo Oil became a member of the Petroleum Association of Japan. |
| An international exposition was held in the city of Suita, Osaka. | 1970 (Showa 45) |
December | The capital increased to JPY 400 million. |
| Prime minister Tanaka and his Cabinet resigned. | 1974 (Showa 49) |
September | The capacity of the crude distillation unit was augmented to 69,000 barrels/day. |
| The 1st G6 summit took place in Paris | 1975 (Showa 50) |
July | The Kikuma Refinery (currently Shikoku Operations) received JIS (Japanese Industrial Standards) accreditation. |
| 1976 (Showa 51) |
July | Established a 90-day petroleum stockpiling system. | |
| The Gasoline Retail Business Law was legislated. The 3rd G7 Summit was held in London. |
1977 (Showa 52) |
January | Taiyo Oil became the first Japanese corporation to conduct DD crude oil trading with the Malaysian national petroleum corporation (PETRONAS). |
| Reached the target of 90 days private reserve. | 1981 (Showa 56) |
November | The head office was relocated to the current location (2-2-3 Uchisaiwai-cho). |
| The 8th G7 Summit was held at the Château de Versailles. | 1982 (Showa 57) |
March | An underground oil stockpiling demonstration plant was completed on the premises of Taiyo's Kikuma Refinery. Taiyo Oil took charge of demonstration operations. |
| 1983 (Showa 58) |
September | Reduced the capacity of the crude distillation unit by 4,000 barrels/day to 65,000 barrels/day. | |
| Tokyo Summit | 1986 (Showa 61) |
March | Made investments in the oil development project in Angola's offshore oil fields. |
| November | Joined the oil development project in Malaysia's offshore oil fields. | ||
| Collapse of the bubble economy German reunification |
1991 (Heisei 3) |
June | The crude oil tanker "Taiyoh I" (88,543 DWT) was put into service. With the completion of the BTX production facilities and the launch of the operation thereat, Taiyo Oil forayed into petrochemicals. |
| December | The petroleum product tanker "Taiyoh II" (58,950 DWT) was put into service. |
Period of development
Expansion of operations with the abolition of the Provisional Measures Law on the Importation of Specific Petroleum Refined Products
| Events in the oil industry and in society | Year | Month | Events concerning Taiyo Oil |
| Promulgation of a revised Air Pollution Control Law Abolition of The Provisional Measures Law on the Importation of Specific Petroleum Refined Products |
1996 (Heisei 8) |
July | With partial transfer of the functions of the head office, Kikuma Refinery was renamed Shikoku Operations. |
| 18th Olympic Winter Games were held in Nagano. Oslo Peace Accords were signed by the United States, the PLO, and Israel. |
1998 (Heisei 10) |
October | Participated in the Tokyo Commodity Exchange as a primary member of the oil futures market. |
| December | Shikoku Operations received ISO 9002 certification. | ||
| The United Nations announced that the world population had passed the six billion mark. | 1999 (Heisei 11) |
October | Kunishi Kawai became the fourth president. |
| The 2002 FIFA World Cup was held in South Korea and Japan. | 2002 (Heisei 14) |
March | Shikoku Operations received ISO 14001 certification. |
| US President George W. Bush declared war on Iraq. | 2003 (Heisei 15) |
August | The capacity of the crude distillation unit was augmented to 120,000 barrels/day. |
| October | Taiyo Petrochemical Co., Ltd. was established. | ||
| December | Acquired from Mitsui Chemicals, Inc., a styrene monomer plant in Yamaguchi. | ||
| The 2006 FIFA World Cup was held in Germany. | 2006 (Heisei 18) |
June | Yutaka Oka became the fifth president. |
| WTI crude oil spot price traded at the futures market in crude oil operated by the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) fell below $100 per barrel for the first time. | 2008 (Heisei 20) |
March | A new office and new onshore shipping facilities on the premises of Shikoku Operations were completed. |
| September | 100th Anniversary of the company's foundation A new brand "SOLATO" and a new company's logo were introduced. Every item sold or installed at SS was redesigne. |
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| 2009 (Heisei 21) |
March | The capital increased to JPY 900 million. | |
| September | The capital increased to JPY 2.65 billion. | ||
| December | The capital increased to JPY 4.65 billion. | ||
| 2010 (Heisei 22) |
March | The capital increased to JPY 5.6 billion. | |
| November | Completion of the construction and startup of Resid Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit with a capacity of 25,000 barrels/day |
