Although the series of explosions in Greater Kaohsiung on Thursday night has left several gas pipelines closed, the petrochemical industry in the city said yesterday that raw material supplies used in production remain at normal levels.
Kaohsiung authorities ordered four pipelines used to deliver chemicals such as ethylene and propylene to close after the blasts late on Thursday that killed at least 28 and have left 314 injured. An investigation is under way to find the cause of the incident.
Petrochemical companies in Kaohsiung, including USI Corp, China Petrochemical Development Corp, Oriental Union Chemical Corp and LCY Chemical Corp have previously feared that the suspension of the four pipelines could lead to a shortage of raw materials and impact production.
Most local chemicals companies said that delivery pipelines outside of downtown areas are still functioning and there has been no supply shortage so far.
The four closed pipelines belong to CPC Corp and USI’s subsidiary, China General Terminal & Distribution Corp (CGTD).
USI said while some propylene deliveries have been affected by the shutdown, supply from other pipelines operated by CGTD in suburban areas remains normal and will have little impact on the company’s operations.
China Petrochemical said it has added a number of deliveries by truck to offset the impact of the closures and ensure the company has sufficient raw materials for to continue production.
China Petrochemical said that to protect against any possible emergency shortage, it has slightly lowered its production amount for one week, knocking sales down by about NT$36 million (US$1.2 million).
Compared with consolidated sales totaling NT$17.15 billion in the first half of this year, the impact from the expected sales decline is expected to be limited.
Oriental Union said as its production base is in the Linyuan Industrial Park, which is far from where the explosions occurred, and raw materials it needs come from CPC’s naphtha cracker plant in the same industrial zone, it is unlikely to be affected by the pipeline shutdown.
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