Formosa to restart No. 1 naphtha cracker in August

13 Jul '11

2 min read

To ensure that two of its units do not go un-operational at the same time, Taiwan based Formosa Petrochemical Corp will resume operations of its No.1 naphtha cracker in the first-half of August before it closes its No. 3 plant for maintenance.

The No. 1 unit with a capacity of 700,000 tons per year, the least of the three Formosa units, was closed down after a pipeline fire occurred at the plant on May 12 this year.

The company's No. 3 plant, housing a capacity of 1.2 million tons per year, would be closed for maintenance for around 40 to 45 days from mid-August this year, instead of its earlier schedule of early September.

According to the company, it cannot keep its two units shut simultaneously as it would severely affect its ethylene production capacity leading to a shortfall of ethylene feedstock necessary for feeding the derivative units.

While the No.1 unit needs to restart before No. 3 plant temporarily ceases operations in mid-August, the exact date of its resuming operations is not yet announced.

Formosa being Asia's foremost purchaser of fuel, closure of its No. 1 cracker significantly affected the naphtha market. Last year too, the plant remained shut for a long period during July due to fire at a distillation tower.

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