UpdateTaiwan's Nan Ya shuts Mailiao No 4 MEG plant after fire

26 September 2012 09:32  [Source: ICIS news]

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SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Taiwan’s Nan Ya Plastics shut its 720,000 tonne/year No 4 monoethylene glycol (MEG) plant at Mailiao in Yunlin County on Wednesday morning following a fire, a company source said.

The blaze erupted at the unit at 10:05 Taiwan time and was extinguished more than an hour later, according to a statement posted at Yunlin County’s fire department.

"We don't know how long the plant will be shut as we are still [doing an] assessment [of] the damage by the fire," the company source said.

Bids for Asia’s spot MEG rose to $1,080-1,085/tonne (€834-835/tonne) CFR (cost and freight) CMP (China Main Port), $5/tonne higher from the morning session, following news of the fire and the consequent shutdown of Nan Ya's MEG plant.

The No 4 MEG unit was scheduled for a 40-day turnaround at the end of the year, in compliance with a government directive on safety checks at plants in Mailiao, following a string of fire that occurred at the petrochemical complex last year.

Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC), a sister company of Nan Ya, has shelved its planned purchase of spot naphtha supplies for first-half November delivery to Mailiao because of the MEG plant fire, said an industry source.

Nan Ya Plastics, which is a part of Taiwan’s petrochemical major Formosa Group, has three other MEG units at the site.

The No 1 and No 2 MEG plants, each with a 360,000 tonne/year capacity, are currently running at 100%, while the No 3 unit with the same capacity is currently shut for 30-40 days of turnaround from 7 September, the Nan Ya source said.

The No 2 unit had a turnaround on 22 July to 7 September, while the No 1 unit is scheduled to be shut when the No 3 plant resumes operation.

Additional reporting by Felicia Loo

($1 = €0.77)

By: Becky Zhang
+65 6780 4359

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