a fire that hit a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline 六輕再度發生工安事故，

六輕再度發生工安事故，環保團體再次抨擊政府縱容大企業危害環境，要求立即停止六輕五期擴建計畫；工業局表示，農曆年後，台塑已主動表示將暫緩進行。

　　雲林縣淺海養殖權益促進會理事長林進郎說，六輕廠工安事故一再發生，政府的檢查與台塑的承諾都淪為口號，應請公正第三者進行體檢，該關廠就要嚴格執行關廠，該處罰就要處罰。

　　台灣生態保護協會雲林工作站主任陳清圳指出，六輕再爆工安事故，顯示除了台塑內部管理機制出現問題，包括政府工安檢查等外在處理機制也需檢討；台塑對於六輕現有的廠區都已經無法妥善處理，更不可能管好五期擴廠，須停止這項投資案。

　 　針對環團呼籲停止六輕五期擴建案申請，經濟部工業局長杜紫軍表示，六輕五期擴建案已進行過地方說明會，本應再送環保署進行第二階段環評，但在今年農曆年 後，台塑主動來函表示「要暫緩」，因此擴建案目前已停頓。環保署綜合計畫處長葉俊宏表示，環保署迄未收到六輕五期第二階段環評評估書。

　　台塑集團主管說，六輕五期擴建計畫的總投資金額預估可達新台幣2,800多億元，假如政府不合理設限過多，基於股東權益，台塑會評估不做，乾脆尋覓海外其他合理投資環境。

Formosa may defer May/June naphtha shipments to July

* Shutdown of 700,000 tpy No. 1 cracker unclear

* Two other crackers running at 100 pct capacity

SINGAPORE, May 13 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Formosa Petrochemical Corp could delay some shipments of naphtha feedstock after it shut its No. 1 cracker following a fire that hit a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline, traders said on Friday.

This could snap the strong sentiment in the naphtha market since second-half April due to a drop in European barrels to Asia. [ID:nL3E7FQ0WN]

"Formosa will likely delay some naphtha shipments, and the market is reacting to that with paper spreads seen weaker," said a Singapore trader.

June/July paper spreads fell $1.88 on Friday, the biggest one-day decline since January, to a more than one-month low of $3.38 a tonne.

How much Formosa will defer and for how long were not immediately clear, although some traders expect May/June cargoes to be rolled over to July.

The No. 1 cracker -- with a total capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year (tpy) -- uses nearly 43,000 tonnes of naphtha a week if it is not using any LPG.

Formosa Petrochemical, Asia's top naphtha buyer, operates three naphtha crackers at its 2.93 million tonnes-per-year (tpy) ethylene facility in Mailiao, and uses LPG to replace about 15 percent of its naphtha raw material.

Its two larger crackers are operating at full capacity, traders added.

IMPACT TO BE LESS SEVERE VS LAST JULY

The No. 1 cracker was the same unit that was closed for a prolonged period from July to October last year due to a fire sparked by a leakage at a distillation tower. [ID:nSGE6660GD]

Back then, the market slumped shortly after the No. 1 unit was shut on July 7. Asian naphtha margins sunk to a 14-month low on July 19 at $50.60 a tonne premium.

Cracks as of Thursday were at a $156.60 a tonne premium.

"If the shutdown of the cracker is limited to a week, the impact is not that big," said a North Asian trader.

Formosa had also shut a No. 1 line that produces more than 440,000 tonnes of aromatics operated by Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp .

A spokesman said the fire at the pipe was put out around 5:45 a.m. on Friday after breaking out on Thursday evening.

Because of the damage to the pipeline, the ethylene and aromatics units were shut, although they were not damaged by the fire, the spokesman said.

While traders estimated that the aromatics unit may be able to restart from next week, they were unsure when the cracker could resume.

"But I think the cracker should be able to restart shortly, because production was halted for safety reasons and not because it was damaged," said a third trader.

The Mailiao complex was hit by two fires in a month last July, raising concern over its safety record. (Reporting by Seng Li Peng and Jasmin Choo in SINGAPORE and Jeanny Kao and Jonathan Standing in TAIPEI; Editing by Michael Urquhart)