PLAN NEEDED: Indonesia is concerned about the plant’s production capacity, but CPC promised residents near the facility it would be removed by the end of the year
Taipei Times
Date: Mar 23, 2018
By: Lauly Li / Staff reporter
Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) yesterday said the government would look at alternative plans to dispose of the nation’s fifth naphtha cracker this year if Indonesia’s state-run oil and natural gas supplier PT Pertamina turns down a deal to buy the facility next week.
“We can’t force Indonesia to buy the entire facility… We must respect the decision they are to make next week,” Shen said ahead of the ministry’s weekly meeting.
Shen’s remarks came after the Chinese-language China Times reported that PT Pertamina might reject the deal due to the facility’s limited production capacity.
The newspaper said that the Indonesian company is worried that the naphtha cracker’s annual ethylene output is only 500,000 tonnes, compared with the 1 million tonnes generated by a new facility. [FULL STORY]