Formosa to restart gasoline unit after fixing fault

The No. 1 residue fluid catalytic cracker, able to process 84,000 barrels of fuel a day, was shut Oct. 8. The Taiwanese company also plans to restart its No. 3 crude distillation unit around Nov. 8 after completing regular maintenance that started Oct. 1, spokesman Lin Keh-yen said by telephone in Taipei yesterday.

Crude distillation units, which make up the bulk of refineries, heat crude oil to separate it into different fuel products. Formosa, based in Mailiao, western Taiwan, has three such plants with a total daily capacity of 540,000 barrels.

The RFCCs convert heavier refined products such as residual fuel into higher-valued products including gasoline. The refiner has two such units.

Monday, Formosa Petrochemical restarted a fuel-oil unit, known as a residue desulphurization plant, after closing it on Oct. 1 for regular repairs, Lin said. The plant can process 80,500 barrels a day.

Formosa Petrochemical expects crude processing to fall to an average 430,000 barrels a day in the fourth quarter from about 490,000 barrels in the previous three months because of the maintenance, Lin said last month.

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