Taiwan's Formosa to restart No 1 cracker before mid-August

12 July 2011 09:02  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) expects to restart its 700,000 tonne/year No 1 cracker at Mailiao before the middle of August to avoid a shortfall in ethylene feedstock for downstream units at the same site, a company spokesperson said on Tuesday.

FPCC shuttered the cracker for inspections following a pipeline fire at the firm’s Mailiao petrochemical complex on 12 May.

“The company will stick to the original plans for the No 3 cracker and shut it down in the middle of August,” the spokesperson said

The company plans to restart the No 1 cracker before the turnaround at its No 3 unit to prevent any shortage in feedstock for its derivative facilities, she said.

No dates have yet been fixed for the restart of the No 1 cracker, she added.

The 1.2m tonne/year No 3 cracker is currently being operated at around 85% of its capacity, the spokesperson said.

FPCC is also running its 1.03m tonne/year No 2 cracker at around the same rate, she added.

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By: Nurluqman Suratman

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