Taiwans' largest ethylene plant shut due to pipe leakage

Formosa Petrochemical Corp., has shut Taiwan's largest ethylene plant, in Mailiao on Taiwan's west coast, on account of a pipe leakage,. The No. 3 plant, shut for an estimated one week, has the capacity to produce 1.2 mln tpa of ethylene, using naphtha as feedstock. However, supply is unlikely to be affected as Formosa plans to fall back on stockpiled ethylene to meet delivery commitments during the shutdown. However, naphtha purchases are likely to see a dip because of the closure. Formosa Petrochemical operates three naphtha processing plants with a combined ethylene capacity of 2.94 million tpa.