Formosa's olefins conversion unit operating at 60%

29-Jun-07

Formosa Petrochemical Corp (FPCC)'s recently commissioned metathesis plant (olefins conversion unit (OCU)), is currently operating at 60% capacity. The OCU was originally scheduled to come on stream on 25 May 2007 along with the new 1.2 mln tpa No 3 cracker. However, the start up was unexpectedly deferred. The No 3 olefins facility, on the other hand, is running at 80-85% capacity. Output from the new cracker and refinery were used as feedstock for the 250,000 tpa propylene unit at Mailiao in Jun 2007. Some 4500-6000 tons of propylene have been produced by the new cracker, all of which were shipped to trading houses in Southeast and Northeast Asia. Formosa, however, continues to supply propylene to export markets. Once onstream, the entire output of the metathesis unit will be directed to various downstream plants in Mailiao.