Platts--2002/9/18
Taiwan's Eternal exits PS business; to close plant Oct 1
Taiwan's Eternal Chemical will cease its polystyrene resin
business effective Oct 1 due to poor sales margins and negative
production economics, a company official said Tuesday. The
official, however, declined to reveal any details of Eternal's
financial figures. "We will stop PS production by the end of
September, and the plant will be closed permanently from
October" the official added. The company has not decided
what to do with the 50,000 mt/yr plant, which is located in
Kaohsiung. Eternal indicated, however, that it would use the
plant site for other applications.
Taiwan's CPC revives $17-bil No 8
naphtha cracker plan
Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Corp is interested in reviving a
project to develop a greenfield naphtha cracker worth NT$600-bil
($17-bil) on the island. The state oil company is conducting an
internal feasibility study into the project, a CPC source said
Thursday. "We expect the study will be completed around
mid-January of 2003. By then we should have a clearer picture on
whether we should continue with the development the way it was
first planned, or revise the whole project, or scrap it entirely
if the results indicate such a project is not competitive,"
the source said.
The investment project was originally planned in 1995. CPC, along
with 13 partners, had agreed to jointly invest in building a
1.2-mil mt/year naphtha cracker with downstream facilities and a
150,000 b/d refinery.
2003/3/10 Financial Times
ExxonMobil likely to join Taiwan
petrochemical project
International oil giant ExxonMobil
is likely to make massive investments in Taiwan's eighth
petrochemical complex project led by the state-run Chinese Petroleum
Corp. (CPC)
ExxonMobil, which has set up a joint
venture with Taiwan's giant trading firm Pan Overseas Corp. to
supply oil products, has shown interest in the CPC project mainly
with the expectation that the state enterprise has the best
chance to win the long-term contract of supplying liquefied
natural gas (LNG) for the Tatan thermal power plant being built
by Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower), another major state-run company,
in Taoyuan County
CPC chairman Kuo Chin-tsai has
recently instructed executives to take Taipower's 25-year LNG
contract "at whatever the cost" or the responsible
executives will be held accountable
Kuo also agreed to actively consider
purchasing LNG from ExxonMobil on the precondition that the
American company makes capital investment in the new
petrochemical complex project. Kuo is willing to allocate 35% of stake in
the project to ExxonMobil,
making it the second largest shareholder
Executives of ExxonMobil have
expressed keen interest in the two cooperation proposal
In addition to potential foreign
partners, CPC has also been soliciting other petrochemical
companies in Taiwan to jointly build the No. 8 naphtha cracking
plant at a sugar plant owned the government's Taiwan Sugar Corp.
at Nanchou Hsiang in Pingtung County in southern Taiwan. Other
possible locations include the offshore industrial park at Yunlin
County in southwestern Taiwan and Tacheng Hsiang, a coastal
township in Changhua County in central Taiwan
A total of 13 privately invested
petrochemical enterprises have pledged to join the project, which
will have daily refining capacity of 150,000 metric tons of crude
oil to generate 1.2 million tons of ethylene per year
The Formosa Plastics
Group, the largest petrochemical conglomerate in Taiwan, also
showed interest in taking
part in the project or buying into CPC shares when the government
releases CPC stocks in the privatization plan.
Financial Times May 30, 2003
CPC (Taiwan) starts feasibility
study for doubling ethylene capacity to 2 M tonne/y.
A feasibility study is understood to
have been started by Chinese Petroleum Corp (CPC), Taiwan, for a
worldscale petrochemical centre. This will be based on an
ethylene cracker with a capacity of 2 M tonne/y. Initially, a cracker with a 1 M tonne/y
capacity will be the centre of the project with a refinery and
expanded petrochemical facilities being added in the medium term,
second phase. Investors are expected to include those from
overseas and Taiwanese producers of ethylene derivatives. A
decision is to be made about the range of chemicals produced and
the location of the complex. At Mailiao, a 1.6 M tonne/y ethylene
facility is operated by Formosa Plastics Group. The company is
considering expanding capacity there by 0.9-1.0 M tonne/y. No
date has been given for the start of the additional production.
The development of the complex is expected to include facilities
for polyolefins, PVC and other intermediates. Output would be
used to supply growing demand from China.
2003/4/1 Financial Times
Grand Pacific Petrochemical to
expand SM production capacity 国喬石油化学
Grand Pacific Petrochemical Corp., a
local manufacturer listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, plans to
expand its annual production capacity of SM (styrene monomer)
from 330,000 metric tons at present to 500,000 metric tons
Grand Pacific currently has two SM
production lines at its factory located in Kaohsiung County,
southern Taiwan, with respective annual production capacities of
200,000 metric tons and 130,000 metric tons
In light of good prospects of the
international and the domestic SM markets, Grand Pacific plans to
increase its production capacity by demolishing the older production line with
annual capacity of 130,000 metric tons and then establish a new
one with that of 300,000 metric tons on a 2,000-ping (1 ping=35.58 sq. ft.)
vacant lot inside its factory
With total estimated total cost of
NT$2.7 billion, the new SM production line will be based on the
most modern manufacturing process. Upon completion of the new
production line, Grand Pacific's total production capacity will
rise to 500,000 metric tons a year. Accordingly, Grand Pacific's
average daily consumption of ethylene, a main material of SM,
will increase from 280 metric tons currently to 360 metric tons.
Chinese Petroleum Corp., the company's local supplier of
ethylene, has consented to augmenting the supply in principle
Grand Pacific's board of directors,
at a meeting on March 28, decided not to deal out any dividend
for last year's operation because the company suffered after-tax
loss of about NT$30 million in 2002. The board of directors also
passed the company's plan to raise additional capital by issuing
150 million new shares to improve financial structure and repay
bank loans.
June 9, 2003
Financial Times
Major makers to set up new PS plants in mainland China
Taita Chemical Co., Ltd., Taiwan Styrene Monomer Corp., and
Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. (FCF), three local
petrochemical producers listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, will
establish new PS (polystyrene) factories in mainland China
This is because of large short supply of PS in the mainland
market. Mainland China imported 1.70 million metric tons of PS
last year, accounting for 74.89% of the demand volume of 2.27
million metric tons. Due to fast growing production of
information technology goods and electric home appliances, the
demand for PS in mainland China is estimated to rise to 2.78
million metric tons in 2005, still exceeding the estimated
domestic supply capacity of 2.025 million metric tons there in
that year
Taita
Chemical already
has a PS factory in Zhongshan of Guangdong Province and will
expand the factory's annual production capacity by 50,000 metric
tons. In addition, the company will establish an EPS (expandable PS)
factory with annual production capacity of 100,000 metric tons in Tianjin, the first EPS
factory in the northern region of mainland China
Taiwan
Styrene Monomer specializes in the production of SM
(styrene monomer), the material of PS, in Taiwan and has not
invested in production of PS so far. In light of the large market
potential in mainland China, the company plans to set up an EPS factory with yearly
capacity of 100,000 metric tons in Qingdao of Shangdong Province,
northern China, and a SM factory with annual capacity of 500,000
metric tons in
Quanzhou of Fujian, southeastern China
FCF operates an ABS
(copolymer of acrylonitrile, butadiene, styrene) factory in
Ningbo of Jiangsu Province, eastern China, and will establish a
PS factory there as well. The PS factory will have annual
production capacity of 200,000 metric tons.
June 10, 2003
Financial Times
Nan Ya Plastics to set up integrated polyester production base in
mainland
Nan Plastics Corp., the largest local manufacturer of plastic
products, will establish three subsidiary manufacturers to build
an integrated production base of polyester products in Kunshan of
Jiangsu Province, mainland China
In light of the market potential in mainland China, the company
will set up a subsidiary manufacturer of polyester fiber and yarn
with initial capital of US$18.5 million, one of polyester
textured yarn with capital of US$18.5 million, and one of
weaving, dyeing & finishing with US$18 million
The subsidiary manufacturer of polyester fiber and yarn will have
an annual production capacity of 100,000 metric tons of polyester
compound, 50,000 metric tons of polyester staple fiber, 25,000
metric tons of POY (partially oriented yarn of polyester), and
25,000 metric tons of FOY (fully oriented yarn of polyester). POY
and FOY will be processed by another manufacturer into polyester
textured yarn, and then woven, dyed, and finished by the other
manufacturer into polyester filament knit fabric
Nan Ya has obtained approval from the Investment Commission under
the Ministry of Economic Affairs for the investment project. The
company has operated 15 subsidiary manufacturers (factories) and
is establishing 12 others in mainland China, with product lines
covering plastic tubes, plastic cloth, plastic leather,
copper-clad laminates, PCBs (printed circuit boards), epoxy, and
glass fiber. The investment in production of polyester products
will extend the company's business operation there
Nan Ya currently boasts the world's largest production capacity
of polyester products. The company has an annual production
capacity of 960,000 metric tons in Taiwan and that of 800,000
metric tons in the U.S. Moreover, the company is setting up a
subsidiary manufacturer with an annual production capacity of
150,000 metric tons of PET (polyehylene terephthalate) compound
and 120,000 metric tons of textile polyester compound in Vietnam.
The subsidiary will begin production sometime in the first half
of next year.
Taiwan's CPDC to sell assets to cut $714m corporate debt
Taiwan's China Petrochemical
Development Corp (CPDC) is hoping to reduce its NT$25bn
($726.9m/Euro640.9m) debt by selling some of its assets and is in
talks with some interested parties in Taiwan about the sale,
according to a company source. He did not disclose further
details.
CPDC's three core products are caprolactam, acrylonitrile and acetic
acid. It also
has a 40 000 tonne/year nylon-chip plant in Toufen, Taiwan. The
company used to produce methanol, but its 60 000 tonne/year
methanol plant has been idle for more than three years now.
It suffered a net loss of NT$1.5bn in 2002, the source said -- an
improvement of about 7% over the previous year.
The source said CPDC expects to make a small profit of
NT$300-500m this year on total sales of about NT$20bn. Total
sales last year were NT$18bn.
He said the company's sales performance in H1 this year was not
good because of the war in Iraq and Sars although it expects a
better second half because caprolactam margins are improving.
Caprolactam accounts for about 60% of CPDC's total sales and
demand for the product has picked up significantly in the last
month or so, especially from China.
August 12, 2003
The Shaw Group Inc.
The Shaw Group's Stone & Webster Subsidiary to Provide Proprietary
Process Technologies to Formosa Chemicals for Styrene Plant in
Taiwan
The Shaw Group
Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Stone & Webster,
Inc., will provide its proprietary downstream ethylene
technologies to Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation for a grassroots
ethylbenzene/styrene monomer facility in Haifeng, Taiwan. Stone & Webster will
provide the technology through its recently acquired Badger Technologies unit which specializes in
the development, licensing, and commercialization of
petrochemical and petroleum refining-related technologies.
Formosa will use the Mobil/Badger EBMax ethylbenzene process
integrated with the Fina/Badger styrene technology. With an
initial capacity of 600,000 metric tons of styrene monomer per year, the Taiwan
facility will be the largest single train styrene plant in the
world. This represents the third Formosa ethylbenzene/styrene
monomer plant to utilize the Badger technologies since 1987.
"We are pleased that Badger's ethylbenzene/styrene monomer
technologies have once again been selected by Formosa and we look
forward to working with our partners to ensure the success of
this significant project," stated Nick Gallinaro, President
of Stone & Webster Process. "This award further
illustrates the value of our proprietary petrochemical
technologies in the international marketplace, which continues to
present opportunities for leveraging our technology
portfolio."
The Shaw Group Inc. is a leading global provider of engineering,
consulting, remediation, procurement, construction, maintenance,
fabrication and facilities management services for government and
private sector clients in the power, process, environmental,
infrastructure and homeland defense markets. The Company is
headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and employs approximately
17,000 people at its offices and operations in North America,
South America, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific
region. For further information, please visit the Company's
website at www.shawgrp.com.
中国・ＡＳＥＡＮニュース速報 2004/4/6
【台湾】台プラと福聚、ＰＰの増産に注力
http://www.e-plastics.gr.jp/japanese/nna_news/news/news0404_2/04040605.htm
ＰＰ（ポリプロピレン）メーカーの増産が相次いでいる。
現在、業界トップの福聚（タイワン・ポリプロピレン）は、ネック工程の改善により年産量を30万トンから36万トンにまで引き上げた。今年2004年はさらに40万トンとする予定。
台湾プラスチックグループ傘下の台湾化学繊維（台化＝フォルモサ・ケミカルズ＆ファイバー）は、雲林県・麥寮第６ナフサプラントにあるＰＰ工場に16億8,000万台湾元を投じ、年産16万トンの生産ライン１本を増設する。７月から試験的に生産を開始し、年産量は46万トンを超える見通し。今後はネック工程の改善を行い、年産50万トンまで引き上げる。
同グループ傘下の台湾塑膠工業（フォルモサ・プラスチック）は、浙江省寧波市にＰＰ工場を新設する。投資額は6,000万米ドル、年産量は30万トン。台湾での年産量35万トンと合わせると、業界トップの福聚を超える見通しだ。現在、中国では梱包材となる二軸延伸ポリプロピレン（ＢОＰＰ）市場の拡大によりＰＰの需要が増加している。今年の中国でのＰＰ需要は120万トン規模とされ、今後も年間50％の成長率が予想される。
台化および台塑を合わせた台プラグループ全体でのＰＰ年産量は100万トンを超え、同業界で世界トップ10に入る可能性も出てきた。
５日付工商時報が伝えた。
中国・ASEANニュース速報 2004年8月2日
【台湾】台湾石化合成、東展興業の経営権を獲得
http://www.e-plastics.gr.jp/japanese/nna_news/news/news0408_1/04080202.htm
東帝士（トンテックス）グループ傘下の高純度テレフタル酸（ＰＴＡ）メーカー、東展興業の入札による株式売却が７月30日行われ、台湾石化合成工業の呉澄清董事長が台合科技の名義で53％の株式を落札、経営権を獲得した。これにより、東展興業は台湾石化合成工業の主導の下で経営再建への道筋がようやくつけられることとなった。
株式の落札価格は１株当たり8.55台湾元で、台湾石化合成工業は総額24億900万元で経営権を手に入れた。
入札が行われたのは今回が３度目で、前２回は52.17％の株式を所有していた陳由豪・元東帝士グループ総裁が、総統選挙前に民進党政権への献金を暴露するなど一連の騒動のため入札が不成立に終わっている。今回の入札は、陳元総裁が経営権の再獲得に乗り出すのではないかという点でも注目を集め、また、東展興業の株式の約２割を所有し、かつ債権者でもある中華開発金融控股も入札意欲を強めていると目されていた。
債権銀行より公開売却を委託された台湾金融資産服務は他の入札者について明らかにしていないが、２社は公開売却直前に発表された最低価格の１株7.9元を割り込み、共に８元以上の値をつけた台湾石化合成工業と残り１社による争いだった。
台湾石化合成工業よると、呉董事長は10年ほど前から紡織原料への進出を計画。東展興業を傘下に収めれば、ＰＴＡ工場を新設する半分のコストで事業拡大が可能との判断から入札を決めたもようだ。台湾石化合成工業はまた、ＰＴＡは今後特に中国、東南アジア市場での需要増が見込めるとして、積極的に海外市場の開拓を図る考えを示した。
７月31日付工商時報が伝えた。
中国・ASEANニュース速報 2004年7月27日
【台湾】ボトルネック改善、ＰＴＡ各社が生産拡大
http://www.e-plastics.gr.jp/japanese/nna_news/news/news0407_4/04072703.htm高純度テレフタル酸（ＰＴＡ）メーカー各社は、2006年までＰＴＡの供給不足が続くとの観測から、相次いで生産工程のボトルネック改善を行い生産能力の拡大を進めている。
遠東デュポンは、昨年より生産能力の拡大に着手。ボトルネックの改善を行うたびに１万〜２万トンの増産が可能となっており、最終的には年産能力100万トンを目指す。
一方、東帝士（トンテックス）グループ傘下の東展興業は、現在ボトルネック工程の改善は行っていないが、年産42万トンの稼働率を維持しており、実際の出荷量は42万トンを超えるとの予測だ。
ＰＴＡの現物価格は、中国のポリエステル化学繊維メーカーが電力供給制限の影響を受けて操業率が１〜２割となっていることから需給が緩み、落ち着きをみせているが、最近原料であるパラキシレン（ＰＸ）の価格上昇を受けて、１トン当たり715米ドルから750米ドルへ上昇している。
26日付工商時報が伝えた。