Market sources informed SSESSMENTS.COM that Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical would lower run rates further at its Mailiao complex after a fire last week. The company has shut the 80,500 bpd No.2 residual desulphuriser (RDS) unit after the fire on July 15 and cut operating rates at the 540,000 bpd Mailiao refinery to about 68% of capacity. The producer now plans to reduce runs further and may shut one of the 180,000 bpd crude distillation units in August.
Formosa has also cut operating rates of its two 84,000 bpd residual catalytic crackers (RFCCs) to around 75%. The affected RDS unit supplies feedstock to the two RFCCs which can produce up to 330,000 tons/year of propylene. Market sources told SSESSMENTS.COM that Formosa planned to reduce runs at the RFCCs further with a plan to shut one of them. According to them, the shutdown at the RDS might last about half a year.
With the RDS disruption, Formosa is expected to reduce its gasoil and gasoline exports next month. Formosa plans to cut production of acrylonitrile and n-butanol in Mailiao due to reduced propylene output from the RFCCs. The producer has also scheduled to conduct 40-day maintenance in mid-August at its No.3 naphtha cracker which can produce up to 1.2 million tons/year of ethylene and 600,000 tons/year of propylene.
