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Mailiao Complex | Credit: Formosa Plastics Group

Core Operations

FPCC operates three primary business lines from its integrated Mailiao complex in Yunlin County:​

• Oil Refining: Upon the completion of the Phase IV expansion, the refineries operate capacities of 540,000 barrels per day or approximately 25 million tonnes per year (t/y) with three each of 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude distillation units— producing gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, naphtha, LPG, fuel oil, asphalt, base oils, and lubricants​Following the expansion, the naphtha capacity increased to 3.75 million tonnes/year. Other petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel and kerosene are exported to overseas markets.

• Olefins Production: Runs three naphtha cracking plants (Mailiao NCP #1, #2 and #3)) producing ethylene (combined ethylene capacity of 2.935 million tpa), propylene (1.468 million t/y) , butadiene (350,000 t/y), and BTX aromatics​. 

• Utilities Generation: Provides electricity, steam, and water to plants within the No. 6 Naphtha Cracker Complex through cogeneration facilities

The 6^th Naphtha Cracker Project

In 1991, the 6^th Naphtha Cracker Project chose to settle down in the off-shore industrial zones in Yunlin County of Mailiao and Haifong, by way of reclamation, for building up an oil refinery plant with annual capacity of 25 million tonnes of crude oil, naphtha cracker plants for producing 2.94 million tonnes ethylene per annum, and other petrochemical plants, heavy machinery plants, a co-generation plant, and the Mailiao Industrial Harbor. Total investment of 56 plants in the four phases of The Sixth Naphtha Cracker Project, including the industrial harbor and the power plant, was US$32.88 billion.

Polyolefin Plants

• Polyethylene Production: Formosa Plastics Corporation (FPC) operates polyethylene plants with a combiaed capacity of 1.97 million t/y, producing HDPE, LDPE, LDPE, LDPE and EVA grades.
• Polypropylene Production: Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corporation (FCFC) operates polypropylene plants at Mailiao with total capacity of 510,000 t/y using technology licensed from Japan Polypropylene Corporation (JPP). The original 300,000 tons/year plant was expanded to 460,000 tons/year in 2005..

Aromatics Complex

The Mailiao site houses three aromatics plants operated by FCFC, with the largest unit producing 870,000 tonnes/year of paraxylene (PX), 150,000 tonnes/year of orthoxylene (OX), and 470,000 tonnes/year of benzene. These aromatics feed downstream production of styrene monomer (1.2 million tonnes/year), phenol (400,000 tonnes/year), and polycarbonate (PC) resin manufacturing through technology licensed from Idemitsu Kosan of Japan.​

Other Downstream Units

• Ethylene feeds an ethylene glycol (EG) plant (360,000t/y) operated by Formosa Petrochemical
• Propylene feeds acrylonitrile and n-butanol production plants
• Butadiene (350,000 t/y) is a raw material for ABS resin (410,000 t/y)
• Styrene Monomer (SM) feeds polystyrene (PS) and ABS downstream production plants

Vertical Integration

The complex employs vertical integration where olefins and aromatics from FPCC's crackers directly supply sister companies' polymer and chemical plants within the same industrial park.