MOEA agrees to move refinery dueto safety concerns

The Ministry of Economic Affairs agreed in principle yesterday that the Chinese Petroleum Corp's (中油) Taoyuan refinery will be relocated in a year because of public safety concerns.

The agreement came after Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu (林義夫) and other officials met at the ministry yesterday with representatives of residents living near the refinery, which was the site of an explosion last month.

The ministry promised to come up with a comprehensive plan within one year which will outline where the plant will be moved and a relocation timetable, Lin said.

An explosion occurred in equipment to remove sulfur from heavy oil at the refinery on the morning of Jan. 22. Although no casualties were reported, area residents fear the facility is unsafe, leading some 300 of them to march to the ministry yesterday to protest against Chinese Petroleum.

According to company officials, however, it would be fairly difficult to relocate the refinery because of the high costs of previous upgrades