Taiwan's Formosa Petchem issues force majeure as Iran war disrupts feedstock delivery
Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp. (FPCC) has issued a force majeure notice on some of its petrochemical supplies due to feedstock delivery delays stemming from shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Products affected include ethylene and propylene, said FPCC spokesperson KY Lin.
"Our No. 2 and No. 3 crackers are still operating at around 70% for now," Lin said, adding that the refiner is considering shutting one cracker if "naphtha feedstock does not come at all".
Steam crackers break down feedstocks such as naphtha into smaller molecules like ethylene and propylene, used to make plastics.
FPCC's No. 2 and No. 3 crackers at its Mailiao site can produce up to 1.335 metric MMtpy of ethylene, while its No. 1 cracker is currently not in operation.
For refined fuel products such as diesel, jet fuel and gasoline, the company is still proceeding with its export deliveries for March and April, although there is likely to be no spot availability for April, Lin said.
As of today, the refinery is processing around 490,000 bpd of crude, although the situation could change as some crude deliveries "will be affected" after March 20, he added.
FPCC is slated to shut its No. 2 crude unit for a scheduled maintenance in the next few days, media had earlier reported.
The privately owned refiner has a total crude processing capacity of 540,000 bpd.
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