Formosa Petrochemical yet to decide on naphtha unit start-up

Formosa Petrochemical Corp. has yet to decide when it will start its No. 1 naphtha cracker and whether it will carry out maintenance at a second unit, originally planned for September.

It’s still “unclear” whether Formosa Petrochemical will shut the No. 3 ethylene plant for work it had scheduled for the third or fourth quarter, Lin Keh-yen, a company spokesman, said by phone from Taipei. Maintenance was planned to last 40 days to 45 days, Lin said in March. Formosa also can’t confirm the start-up date for the No. 1 unit, which was halted following a fire at a pipe in the Mailiao oil refining and petrochemicals complex, Lin said.

The suspended ethylene plant has an annual capacity of 700,000 metric tons and accounts for about 24 percent of the refiner’s output capacity of the raw material, used in plastics and fabrics, according to the company’s website.

The blaze also led Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. to shut its No. 1 aromatics plant. The unit makes up 18 percent of the company’s capacity for aromatics, used to make products including textiles, plastic and auto parts. The facility will resume output on May 16, the company said May 13.