Formosa Petrochemical Corp plans to embark on maintenance at its 540,000 bpd refinery in H1-2012 to complete safety checks ahead of a government deadline, as per Reuters.
The Taiwanese government has ordered the refiner to carry out comprehensive checks at its refinery in Mailiao and Yunlin, as safety concerns grew after a series of fires hit the complex. Its term supplies of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel products are unlikely to be affected because of ample stockpiles being built in advance. Formosa's 180,000 bpd No. 1 crude distillation unit (CDU) is tentatively scheduled to shut in February, and the 180,000 bpd No. 3 unit will close from April to mid-May. It will shut one of two 84,000 bpd residue fluid catalytic crackers (RFCC) in April to coincide with the No. 3 CDU maintenance. The other RFCC is currently in turnaround mode and will restart slightly later than expected in H2-January due to a delay in the shipment of repair parts. Formosa could also idle a 27,000 bpd hydrocracker in the second half of 2012 for a turnaround, but this will be before the end-September deadline.
30-Dec-11 
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