Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp (FCFC, 台灣化纖) yesterday said Sunday’s explosion and fire at one of its factories in Yunlin County could cause an estimated loss of NT$1 billion (US$32.42 million) per month.
The Yunlin County Government on Sunday ordered the closure of FCFC’s No. 3 aromatics plant in Formosa Plastics Group’s (FPG, 台塑集團) naphtha cracker complex in Mailiao Township (麥寮) to allow for an investigation into the incident.
A preliminary report into the explosion found that it was triggered by a leak of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) due to a corroded pipeline, the Ministry of Labor Affairs said yesterday.
Photo: CNA
The ministry’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it would increase the frequency of inspections at the plant.
The explosion was the 16th incident at the naphtha cracker complex since 2010.
A corroded pipeline on a high tower had gone undetected by inspectors, Formosa Chemicals vice chairman Hong Fu-yuan (洪福源) said.
The company would conduct a comprehensive inspection of its wiring systems and pipelines within a month, Hong said.
The main chemical compounds produced at the plant are benzene and its derivative p-xylene.
FCFC said in a regulatory filing that the halt in benzene production would not affect its revenue, because the output is for its own use, but it manufactures p-xylene for its own use and for sale, so the anticipated drop of 30,000 tonnes in p-xylene sales would cost it NT$1 billion per month.
Analysts said the loss could lead to a decrease of NT$0.17 in earnings per share for the company, news outlet Cnyes.com reported.
The settlements of insurance claims from owners of nearby homes and fish farms would have to wait until local authorities determine the scope of the affected area, the FCFC said.
FCFC reported cumulative revenue of NT$59.36 billion for the first two months of the year, a 6.96 percent decline compared with NT$63.8 billion for the same period last year. It reported a net income of NT$48.77 billion for last year, with an operating income of NT$38.35 billion. Earnings per share were NT$8.36.
FPG shares yesterday closed unchanged at NT$109 in Taipei trading.
In related news, Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) told a news conference that the county had set up the investigation and supervisory team to examine the incident.
She demanded a comprehensive inspection of the Mailiao complex and its pipelines and appealed to the central government to set up a national-level petrochemical disaster response center.
Additional reporting by CNA
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
RSS