For Educational and Research Purposes Only!

Taiwan CPC To Shut No.5 Cracker In April. TAIPEI, Jan 27, 2000 -- (Reuters) Taiwan's state-owned Chinese Petroleum Corp said on Thursday it plans to shut down its No. 5 naphtha cracker for a 40-day annual maintenance starting from early April. An official at the plant in southern Kaohsiung, who declined to be identified, said the shutdown was still a tentative plan. "We plan to shut down the No.5 cracker starting from early April for 40 days, but I must say this is still an initial plan that is subject to change according to supply and demand condition at that time," the official said by telephone. He gave no further details. The No. 5 cracker, which has an annual production capacity of 400,000 tons of ethylene, had been shut down twice in January due to cooling system compressor and heat exchanger system malfunctions. During the shutdown, Chinese Petroleum usually provides 60-80 percent of normal ethylene to downstream manufacturers through stockpiles of its No. 3 and No. 4 crackers. Chinese Petroleum's No.3 plant, which produces 230,000 tons of ethylene annually, resumed operations on January 25 after a 40-day maintenance shutdown. The No.4 cracker, with annual output of 385,000 tons, has been operating normally. Chinese Petroleum's No.1 and No.2 crackers are no longer in service. Chinese Petroleum's shutdowns are closely watched in Asia's petrochemical market. Experts say Asia's petrochemical feedstock suppliers often raise prices during CPC closure. (C)2000 Copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters Limited. < a href="http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=129438">Link

I wonder what caused the glitches in Janurary?

-- Teague Harper (tharper@cyberhighway.net), January 28, 2000

Answers

Link
Sorry for the failed link in my original post!

-- Teague Harper (tharper@cyberhighway.net), January 28, 2000.

40 day annual? so it's normal for these puppies to go down for 40 days each year then?

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 28, 2000.