CPC restarts crude unit following fire

CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said a crude distillation unit at its Kaohsiung refinery resumed its operations a day after a fire, with almost one-seventh of the company's capacity restored.

The state-run company restarted the unit -- which can process 100,000 barrels of crude a day into fuels including gasoline and diesel -- on Monday afternoon, spokeswoman Jessica Tang (唐苑莉) said yesterday.

The unit had been closed since June 6 for scheduled maintenance.

"Operations at the unit are now normal," Tang said by telephone.

A fire broke out during an attempted restart on Sunday.

The blaze was extinguished within 10 minutes and caused no damage or injuries, Tang said on Monday.

CPC has total crude oil refining capacity of 720,000 barrels a day at its three refineries in Taoyuan, Talin and Kaohsiung.

The Kaohsiung refinery has two crude distillation units with a combined daily capacity of 220,000 barrels.

A third, with a capacity of 50,000 barrels a day, was idled in 2005.

The Taipei-based company plans to shut a crude unit at the Taoyuan refinery in October for 30 days for repairs and an overhaul to the facility.

The crude distillation unit is the main part of a refinery that heats crude oil to separate the raw material into different oil products.