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Mitsubishi
Corporation has announced the commencement
of oil production at a newly developed field in
the Gulf of Mexico, offshore from the U.S., where
it has been engaged in exploration, development
and production of crude oil and natural gas since
1998. A fully owned subsidiary will assume responsibility
for developing and producing oil in the block as
an operator.
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| Mitsubishi
Corporation-owned oil production platform
in the Gulf of Mexico |
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The Mustang Island Block
726, located in the Gulf, has commenced oil production,
making it the sixth producing field in the region
for Mitsubishi.
Mitsubishi Corporation acquired the block together
with Texas-based Tarpon Offshore, LP (Tarpon), a
highly acclaimed company specializing in the development
of oil and gas fields. Development activities have
been conducted jointly with Tarpon, and the acquisition
has brought Mitsubishi Corporation a 100% working
interest in the block. It also plans to acquire
a 100% working interest in neighboring blocks and
will conduct exploration toward the development
of oil and gas.
Mitsubishi Corporation is committed
to exploring and developing new opportunities in
this region as part of a larger strategic commitment
to exploration and production of oil and gas, and
the company plans to enhance its expertise in developing
new oil and gas fields by acquiring operating companies
to expand these activities.
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| Crystal
Cruises' Crystal Serenity |
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Crowning
a decade of excellence and innovation, NYK
Line subsidiary Crystal Cruises
Inc., based in Los Angeles, California, has once
again received the World's Best Large-Ship Cruise
Line award from the readers of Condé
Nast Traveler magazine. With an overall score
of 94.1, one of Crystal's highest ratings ever,
the luxury-cruise specialist topped all cruise lines,
both large and small. Its ten consecutive years
of wins is unprecedented by any cruise line or hotel.
Considered among the highest honors
in the travel industry, the Condé Nast
Traveler Readers' Choice Awards celebrate the
best-of-the-best hotels, airlines, resorts, cruise
lines, cities, rental-car companies and islands,
as determined by the magazine's well-traveled readers.
Cruise lines are evaluated in six categories: activities/facilities,
cabins, crew/service, design/layout, food/dining
and itineraries.
"The honor and excitement in receiving
the World's Best award never diminishes. In fact,
this recognition from the savvy world travelers
of Condé Nast Traveler is especially
significant given the competitive nature of luxury
travel globally," says Crystal President Gregg
L. Michel. "We are thrilled to be sharing an
audience with some of the world's best travel experiences
and are exceptionally proud of our dedicated staff,
who work to deliver a vacation that continues to
excite and reward our discerning guests."
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Alongside
the latest production models, Mitsubishi
Motors showed a number of concept
cars, a proprietary next-generation electric vehicle
(MIEV) and other technologies at the 39th Tokyo
Motor Show, from October 22 through November 6,
2005.
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| (Shown
right to left:) "Concept-X," "i," and
Concept-D:5 |
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There were a total
of 17 cars, including rally machines and vehicles
that accommodate the needs of disabled drivers
and passengers. Among the special show models
was the MITSUBISHI Concept-X, a concept car with
styling that raises the bar on performance car
looks and boasts Mitsubishi's 4WD-based Super
All Wheel Control vehicle dynamics control system.
With an exterior that evokes the Lancer Evolution's
purposeful road machine image and a high-quality
and functional interior that encourages the driver
to concentrate solely on operating the machine,
MITSUBISHI Concept-X is as handsome as it is functional.
It was joined by an innovative new-age
minicar called "i," which recently went
on sale in Japan, and the MITSUBISHI Concept-D:5,
a go-anywhere, high-performance concept car embodying
the company's "utmost safety" ideal.
Current production models included the brand new
Outlander SUV, which exquisitely marries sporty
lines unprecedented on an SUV with outstanding
versatility and utility.
The themes of "safety" and
"driving pleasure" are attracting new
attention to the company's emerging crop of new
vehicles.
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| The
Kirin Corner Cut Carton has won praise
for design innovation. |
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Kirin's
Corner Cut Carton was on display among more than
300 objects in an exhibition at New York City's
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), the foremost collection
of twentieth-century art in the world. It was the
only product from a Japanese alcohol manufacturer
to be featured in the exhibition.
By trimming the four corners of a cardboard
box and folding the corners into part of the surface,
Kirin's Corner Cut Carton has become easier to carry
and to handle. The unique packaging is used for
corrugated shipping cartons of a variety of Kirin
canned beverages. Compared to previous cartons,
paper consumption is reduced by about 800 tons per
year. Kirin's Corner Cut Carton was displayed at
the "SAFE: Design Takes On Risk" exhibition
from October 16, 2005 to January 2, 2006. SAFE is
an exhibition seeking to redirect the pursuit of
beauty towards the appreciation of economy of function
and technology. The exhibition covered all forms
of designs, from manufactured products to information
architecture, with a focus on designing for safety.
Kirin is constantly seeking new ideas
with which to promote Kirin Chu-hi Hyoketsu, the
leading brand in the chu-hi market, and the Corner
Cut Carton was implemented as part of this approach
in May 2004.
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If
you have ever wanted to ride in a Ferris wheel with
27 other people 150 meters in the sky, now is your
chance. Mitsubishi
Heavy Industries (MHI), working
under the consortium between Mitsubishi
Corporation (MC) and Takenaka Corporation,
has won an order from Singapore Flyer PTE Ltd. to
build a giant Ferris wheel at a multipurpose retail
facility to be constructed in the Marina Bay Area,
in the heart of Singapore.
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| Artist's
conception of world's largest Ferris wheel |
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Upon completion
in February 2008, the wheel will become the world's
largest at 150 m in diameter, surpassing the 135
m, so-called London Eye built on the River Thames
in London in 2000.
Singapore is strengthening its tourist
industry, and the Singapore Tourism Board expects
the wheel and a large, three-story retail facility
to draw tourists from abroad.
MHI will be in charge of the production
and deployment of the wheel while Takenaka Corp.
will be in charge of constructing the retail facility.
The total contract amount is ¥10 billion ($91
million).
The new wheel will serve a maximum of
1,500 passengers per hour, using a self-rotating
cabin stability system as it circles once every
30 minutes. The 28 large, air-conditioned cabins,
each accommodating 28 people, will afford the expected
high volume of visitors stunning views of Singapore,
Malaysia and Indonesia. |
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Asahi
Glass to Build ETFE Plant in U.K.
Asahi Glass will establish a plant at Asahi Glass
Fluoropolymers U.K. Ltd. to manufacture the
fluorinated resin ETFE, increasing its production
capacity for ETFE by approximately 20%.
"Fluon®
ETFE" (a copolymer of ethylene and tetrafluoroethylene)
is an engineering resin used as an insulating material
for electrical wires and as a raw material in the
production of films. Asahi Glass was the first in
the world to produce it commercially and currently
manufactures ETFE at its plants in Japan, supplying
the majority of the world market.
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Set
to build Methanol Derivatives Complex
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical (MGC) decided to construct
a methanol derivatives complex in Nanjing, China.
In the first stage of this complex, MGC with Itochu
Chemical Frontier Corp. and Itochu Corp. will build
plants to produce dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide.
The plants are due to go on stream at the end of
2007.
Both dimethylacetamide
and dimethylformamide are high performance solvents
used to produce synthetic leather and urethane resin,
raw materials of shoes, bags and textiles.
Mitsubishi Rayon Invents a
New Fiber
Mitsubishi Rayon has developed a revolutionary acrylic
fiber with a core and sheath structure. The fiber
will go on sale in the fall of 2006. COREBRID™
is the name for a new wet spinning technology and
new acrylic fibers. The fiber's core and sheath
are made from different various functional materials.
COREBRID™ gives unique capabilities to clothes
such as thermoregulation, heat regeneration under
sunlight, and anti-electrostatic properties. These
functions are retained after washing.
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