Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical eyes restart of propylene units

24 August 2011 11:29  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC) expects to resume operations at its propylene facilities in Mailiao soon following the restart of a crude distillation unit (CDU) at the site, a company source said on Wednesday.

FPCC restarted one of the three CDUs at its 540,000 bbl/day refinery in Mailiao on 21 August. The other two CDUs are expected to be back on stream in the coming days, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The company’s No 1 residual fluid catalytic cracker (RFCC) and its olefins conversion unit (OCU) at Mailiao will restart “very soon”, but the date has yet to be confirmed, said the FPCC source.

The RFCC can produce around 325,000 tonnes/year of propylene, while the OCU has a propylene capacity of 250,000 tonnes/year.

Formosa’s No 2 RFCC, which has a similar propylene capacity as the No 1 unit, is also off line and will remain down until mid-September, the source said.

The shutdown of the refinery and propylene facilities was prompted by an end-July fire at the Mailiao petrochemical complex.

The No 2 RFCC had been slated for maintenance this month before the latest in a string of fire incidents at the site occurred.

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By: Peh Soo Hwee
+65 6780 4359

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