Formosa Petrochemical Closes No. 2 Ethylene Plant

By Yu-huay Sun

Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Formosa Petrochemical Corp., Taiwan's only publicly traded oil refiner, shut its No. 2 ethylene plant today to repair a mechanical fault.

The closure will last one to two weeks, spokesman Lin Keh- yen said by phone in Taipei today. The company may extend the maintenance of its No. 3 ethylene plant by five days after delays caused by typhoons, Lin also said.

Formosa Petrochemical, based in Mailiao, western Taiwan, has three ethylene plants with a combined annual capacity of 2.94 million metric tons, including the No. 2's 1.04 million tons. Inventories are being tapped because of the closures, Lin said.

The No. 3 plant, which can produce 1.2 million tons a year, was shut on Sept. 3 for scheduled maintenance. The company had planned to restart it on Oct. 18. Three typhoons hit Taiwan in September, causing crop damages and mudslides.


``We may delay the restart because the maintenance was affected by the typhoons,'' Lin said.

To contact the reporter on the story: Yu-huay Sun in Taipei ysun7@bloomberg.net