Japan's Mitsubishi Chemical said on Monday that maintenance on the No.2 naphtha cracker at its Kashima plant, with capacity to produce 453,000 tons per year of ethylene, would be delayed by about two months from its original plan of June 30.

The move comes as the company tries to replenish its petrochemical product inventories, which were depleted after its main Kashima complex was damaged in a magnitude 9.0 earthquake on March 11, a company spokesman said.

The company plans to restart the No.2 cracker around May 20 and the 375,000 tpy No.1 cracker on June 27.

The final maintenance schedule for the No.2 unit has not been set, the spokesman added.

The company had said in January that it planned to conduct maintenance on the No.2 cracker from June 30 to Aug. 17.