Sinopec shuts down Xiaogang CPL production line, Taiwan bids farewell to local caprolactam production

Sinopec General Manager Chen Yingjun announced that the board of directors has decided to close the Xiaogang CPL production line, and Taiwan bids farewell to local caprolactam production.

[Reporter Zhang Huiwen/Taipei Report] In response to the severe impact faced by Taiwan's caprolactam (CPL) industry and to improve operations, Sinopec (1314) General Manager Chen Yingjun held a major news press conference today, saying that the board of directors decided today (12th) to cease the operation of Xiaogang Plant C The 200,000-ton PL production line will be decommissioned. Since Sinopec is the only CPL producer in Taiwan, after the 100,000-ton CPL second line (No. 2) of the Toufen plant was stopped at the end of 2025, and the Xiaogang plant production line is also stopped and decommissioned, Taiwan will have no local CPL production capacity.

Chen Yingjun pointed out that China's CPL production capacity continues to expand significantly and will account for about three-quarters of the world by 2026. The market is seriously oversupplied. In addition, changes in U.S. trade tariff policies and the interference of geopolitical factors such as Russia, Ukraine, and the United States and Iran have intensified the fluctuations of international oil prices and raw material prices, and increased market uncertainty. Domestic downstream customer demand continues to shrink and production capacity has been reduced. Sinopec is also facing the dual pressures of intensified import price competition and rising raw material costs.

Chen Yingjun said that considering the needs of the company's transformation strategy and improving the efficiency of overall resource allocation, the board of directors decided to stop and decommission the CPL production line of the Xiaogang plant on November 12, 2026, in order to curb losses; regarding the suspension of the production line, the company will fully communicate with the affected colleagues, inquire about their wishes, and arrange cross-factory transfers according to appropriate positions; if there is no suitable position, follow-up matters will be properly handled in accordance with relevant laws and company procedures.

He said that in the future, the Xiaogang plant will focus on the production and promotion of high-quality chemicals, and will select opportunities to evaluate options such as reusing, leasing or selling plants and equipment to improve asset efficiency and further deepen the integration of the existing acrylonitrile (AN) and high-plastic methyl methacrylate (MMA) businesses. After the completion of the delivery, the synergy of upstream and downstream production and sales scheduling can be strengthened to prepare for the rebound in market demand.