Corporate history and development

  • History
  • Development

  • Use of natural gas

    Natural gas upwelling in the river (filmed in 1950)

    Natural gas upwelling in the river (filmed in 1950)

    Residents around Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture used to call natural gas “burning air” and the land with a sign of gas “Toke.” In Midori-ku, Chiba City, which is close to Mobara, there is a place named Toke, and it is also used for a station name of JR Sotobo Line.

    A farmer boiling water after igniting natural gas in his field (filmed in 1950)

    A farmer boiling water after igniting natural gas in his field (filmed in 1950)

    In Otaki Town, Chiba Prefecture, “farmers used to often dig a small hole in their fields, ignite the natural gas gushing from the hole, and boil water for their lunch.” In the middle of the Meiji Period, natural gas was discovered, and it was utilized a little for their daily lives.

    Use of lamps fueled by natural gas (filmed in 1950)

    Use of lamps fueled by natural gas (filmed in 1950)

    Around Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture, natural gas lamps were used for a while after the end of the Second World War.

    Automobile fueled by compressed natural gas and the inside of its trunk

    Automobile fueled by compressed natural gas and the inside of its trunk

    At present, natural gas-powered vehicles are commonly used as eco-cars, because its environmental burden is small. Amid the shortage of gasoline during the Second World War, many automobiles fueled by compressed natural gas were seen as alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles.

    K&O Energy Group in the past

    Mobara Mining Station (Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture)

    Mobara Mining Station
    (Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture)

    Our corporate group relocated from Otaki Town to Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture in 1935. Since then, our corporate group has grown in parallel with the growth of Mobara City. Shogo Shiratori, a local poet, praised natural gas, which drove regional development, by writing, “The natural gas in Mobara is the magic wand or god of fortune.”

    Tamagawa Mining Station (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture)

    Tamagawa Mining Station
    (Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture)

    Tamagawa Mining Station, which started operation in 1956, had been producing and selling compressed gas with a gas well in its premises, but it was closed in 1959.

    Tatsumidai Branch (Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture)

    Tatsumidai Branch
    (Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture)

    Since the 1930s, our corporate group has supplied gas to mainly the Mobara and Otaki Districts, and in 1961, we started supplying gas to Tatsumidai Housing Complex in Ichihara Town (currently, Ichihara City), and to the Uchibo area in Chiba Prefecture.

    Equipment for producing iodine with the starch method (Otaki Town, Chiba Prefecture)

    Equipment for producing iodine with the starch method
    (Otaki Town, Chiba Prefecture)

    The starch method is a method for producing iodine by making starch absorb iodine in brine water and then extracting and purifying iodine. Iodine production began in June 1938, but it was ceased in September 1944, because production efficiency was low. At present, we produce iodine with the blowing-out method and the ion-exchange resin method.

  • Our History

    Kanto Natural Gas Development Co., Ltd. And Otaki Gas Co., Ltd.

    1931 Natural gas business is established under the trade name of Otaki Natural Gas Co., Ltd.
    1935 Established a subsidiary, Chiba Natural Gas Co., Ltd. and entered the city gas supply business, mainly in Otaki Town and Mobara City.
    1937 Established a subsidiary, Natural Gas Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and entered the iodine business.
    1949 Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
    1956 Daiten Gas Sales Co., Ltd. established as a subsidiary of Otaki Natural Gas Co., Ltd. with the main purpose of supplying and selling gas.
    1957 Started to supply gas to Toyo Koatsu Kogyo's Chiba Plant (currently the Mobara Plant of Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.) as a raw material for the chemical industry.
    Changed the trade name of Otaki Natural Gas Co., Ltd. to Kanto Natural Gas Development Co., Ltd. and changed the trade name of Daiten Gas Sales Co. to Otaki Natural Gas Co., Ltd.

    Kanto Natural Gas Development Co., Ltd.

    1973 Completion of the Chiba Pipeline (Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture - Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, 33 km in length)
    1974 Entered the construction business
    1976 Established Kanto Construction Co., Ltd. as a subsidiary and transferred part of its business, including construction business.
    1984 Re-listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange
    1985 Established KNG AMERICA, INC. as a subsidiary to conduct oil and gas development business in the United States.
    1989 New Yachiyo Pipeline completed (Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture - Yachiyo City, Chiba Prefecture, 68 km in length)
    2006 Completion of Sodegaura seaside pipeline (Sodegaura City, Chiba Prefecture - Ichihara City, Chiba Prefecture, 14 km in length)
    Boil-off gas was introduced as a new gas source
    ISO 14001 certification obtained at all business locations
    2007 Acquired Nihon Tennen Gas Co., Ltd. as a subsidiary
    2018 Merged with Kanto Construction Co., Ltd.
    2021 Established KNG FARM INC. as a subsidiary and entered the plant factory business.
    2022 Consolidation of natural gas operations within the group through a business reorganization with Nihon Tennen Gas Co., Ltd. (currently K&O Iodine Co., Ltd.)

    Otaki Gas Co., Ltd.

    1960 Started sales of liquefied petroleum gas
    1961 Began supplying city gas to Ichihara City
    1968 Began supplying city gas to the Hamano areas of Chiba City and Yachiyo City.
    1970 Otaki Sangyo Co., Ltd. established as a subsidiary.
    1971 Began supplying city gas to the Honda and Toke areas of Chiba City.
    1978 Number of customers exceeded 50,000
    1982 Ethylene off-gas was introduced as a new gas source
    1991 Liquefied natural gas (LNG) for industrial use was introduced as a new gas source.
    1992 Changed the trade name of Otaki Natural Gas Co., Ltd. to Otaki Gas Co., Ltd.
    Number of customers exceeded 100,000
    1995 Took over the town gas business from Naruto-machi, Sanbu-gun (now Sanmu City) and began supplying city gas to the town.
    1996 Listed on the Second Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
    2003 Number of customers exceeded 150,000
    2008 Number of customers exceeded 160,000
    2017 Number of customers exceeded 170,000
    2018 Merged with Otaki Sangyo Co., Ltd.
    Started electric power business (retail sales)
    2022 Completion of Nanohana pipeline (JERA Co., Inc. Futtsu LNG terminal to Anesaki Thermal Power Station, 31 km in length )

    K&O Iodine Co., Ltd.

    1940 Established Nihon Tennen Gas Kogyo Co., Ltd. and began natural gas mining.
    1944 Started of production of iodine, brome, salt, etc. in brine
    1954 Started of production of potassium iodide
    1966 Replaced activated carbon method with the ion-exchange resin method
    1996 Changed the trade name from Nihon Tennen Gas Kogyo Co., Ltd. to Nihon Tennen Gas Co., Ltd.
    2003 Obtained ISO9002 certification for the production of iodine and potassium iodide
    2010 Iodine production equipment using the blowing-out method was installed.
    2022 Consolidation of iodine operations within the group through a business reorganization with Kanto Natural Gas Development Co., Ltd. and the trade name was changed to K&O Iodine Co.,Ltd.

    K&O Energy Group Inc.

    2014 Kanto Natural Gas Development Co., Ltd. and Otaki Gas Co., Ltd. were integrated by means of a share transfer to establish K&O Energy Group Inc.
    Listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (now Prime Market)
    2017 Head office relocated from Chuo-ku, Tokyo to Mobara City, Chiba Prefecture
    2018 Acquired WELMA Co., Ltd. as a subsidiary

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