Formosa to expand capacity

Formosa Petrochemical Corp., Taiwan’s only publicly traded oil refiner, said it will increase production capacity amid the economic recovery. The refiner plans to expand its crude oil processing capacity to 593,000 barrels a day in three years, Chairman Wilfred Wang said. The company is seeking government approval to increase capacity further to 720,000 barrels a day, he said. Formosa Petrochemical, based in western Taiwan’s Mailiao, has a capacity to process 540,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Consumption of petroleum products on the island rose 5.6% in April from a year earlier, the Bureau of Energy said on June 4. The company’s cost for refining a barrel of crude oil is between US$5 and US$5.5, spokesman Lin Kehyen told shareholders. (June 18, 2010)