Global changes gave cause for concern;
crafting a responsive energy strategy
2013 was a strange and fickle year : global economic conditions
continued uncertain and the international energy and
petrochemical industry environment underwent many shifts.
A major increase in Asian refining capacity, as well as China's
vigorous development of coal chemical technology, had an
impact on petrochemical raw material supplies and prices.
Furthermore, breakthroughs in North American natural gas
fracking technology initiated an ongoing transformation
of conventional natural gas markets. According to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global
greenhouse gas emissions are now increasing by an average of
2.2% annually, far higher than the average of 1.3% annually for
the previous 30 years. Reducing carbon dioxide emissions has
consequently become a matter of great concern for the entire
world, and the use of clean energy – specifically, natural gas -
is a growing trend. It is especially noteworthy that Singapore is
aiming to become a major Asia-Pacific transshipment center for
natural gas.
Corporate strengthening is the response to
internal and external change
Apart from the rapid changes sweeping through the
international business environment, CPC also faces stiff
challenges on the domestic front. The relocation of our
Kaohsiung refinery at the end of 2015 is fast approaching
and this will entail closure of the Fifth Naphtha Cracker -
which in turn will inevitably lead to some shortfalls in the local
supply of petrochemical raw materials. In addition, the mid-
to-downstream petrochemical industry has long been under
stress and unsure of how to proceed in the future; the fact that
many firms have moved facilities overseas will have a negative
impact on CPC's new Third Naphtha Cracker, which has much
larger capacity than the earlier plants. Moreover, CPC is a wholly
In pursuit of excellence…
and reaching for ever
greater heights
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