
CPC Corporation () is a state-owned
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
,
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon ...
, and
gasoline
Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic ...
company in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...
and is the core of the Taiwanese
petrochemicals
Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable s ...
industry.
History
Early history
CPC was founded on 1 June 1946 in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
as Chinese Petroleum Corporation (中國石油) by the government of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northea ...
(ROC, then on Mainland China). With the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
's retreat to Taiwan after the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
, CPC was transferred from the Council of Resources to the
Ministry of Economic Affairs. The company merged all relevant facilities and companies (Japanese 6th Naval Fuel Depot,
Teikoku Oil,
Nippon Oil
, formerly , or NOC or ''Shin-Nisseki'' (新日石) is a Japanese petroleum company. Its businesses include exploration, importation, and refining of crude oil; the manufacture and sale of petroleum products, including fuels and lubricants; and ...
, etc.) in Taiwan. Its main businesses include surveying, extracting, refining, transporting, and selling petroleum. It also produces various chemicals and has retail outlets all over Taiwan. CPC's fixing of petrol prices helped Taiwan through the
1970s Energy Crisis
The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period we ...
.
Democratization and modern history
Taiwan's petroleum industry was a CPC monopoly prior to June 1996. However, deregulation allowed the establishment of privately owned and operated petroleum refinery enterprises, leading to
Formosa Plastics Group's launch of
Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (台塑石化). In February 2007, the company's board approved name change to "CPC Corporation Taiwan" and the Chinese name from 中國石油 to 台灣中油. This was to avoid confusion with
PetroChina, the
China state-run corporation which also has the Chinese name 中國石油, and was part of government efforts to
desinicize Taiwanese entities which have "China" in their names. However, the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
political party argued that the name change is not valid because no legislation was passed in the legislature to support it. KMT believes that the approval of the
Legislative Yuan
The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel ...
is required before a state-owned company can change its name.
In December 2018, production started at the Prelude floating liquefied natural gas facility in Australia, which is the world's largest floating production structure. The company holds shares alongside investors
Shell, Inpex Corporation, and
Korea Gas Corporation.
In 2019 a Norwegian tanker named
Front Altair
Front may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film
* ''The Front'', 1976 film
Music
*The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and ea ...
carrying a cargo of
naphtha
Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.
Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ...
for CPC Corporation was
attacked in the Gulf of Oman. The entire NT$1.07b (US$34m) cargo was lost but the crew escaped unharmed and the cargo was insured. After insurance CPC Corporation incurred direct costs of NT$8m (US$254,000) associated with the incident. The cargo represented two days of Taiwanese consumption but had minimal impacts as the company had 45 day supply in reserve.
In 2020 the first shipment of
carbon-neutral liquified-natural gas arrived at CPC's Yung-An LNG Terminal in
Kaohsiung. The shipment was the first in a new program designed to render fuel imports carbon-neutral by buying
carbon credit
A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit a set amount of carbon dioxide or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas (tCO2e).
Carbon credits and carbon markets are a compo ...
s on the global market. The initial purchase from
Shell Eastern Trading was for credits certified by the UN's
REDD+ program which supports forests in developing countries.
In 2020 CPC saw the first shipment of crude from the
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...
ian Oryx field, CPC had first begun exploration in Chad in 2006.
Facilities
In 2019 CPC announced the construction of a third LNG terminal, a facility in Taoyuan expected to be completed by 2023 with an initial capacity of 1 million tonnes per year (tpy).
In 2019 CPC received approval from the Environmental Protection Administration to construct a LNG terminal in
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Ta ...
.
Suppliers
CPC Corporation was a historic buyer of Iranian oil and received a sanctions waiver from the United States when they imposed sanctions on Iranian oil imports. Despite receiving a sanctions waiver CPC Corporation chose to end its use of Iran as a source country.
In 2018 CPC signed an agreement with American
Cheniere Energy to purchase
liquefied natural gas
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the v ...
for 25 years. Deliveries are set to begin in 2021.
Chairpersons
*
Chen Chin-te
Chen Chin-te (; born 26 September 1961), also known as Derek Chen, is a Taiwanese politician.
Career
Chen attended National Taipei University of Technology and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Through his activism, Chen bec ...
(12 September 2016 - 18 August 2017)
*
Yang Wei-fuu (30 August 2017 -) (acting)
See also
*
CPC Corporation F.C.
CPC Corporation FC () was a Taiwanese professional football club which last competed in the Taiwan Football Premier League. It was named after the main sponsor, the CPC Corporation.
History
The team is a founder of the Taiwan Football Challenge ...
*
List of companies of Taiwan
Taiwan maintains a stable industrial economy as a result of economic growth and industrialization during the late 20th century, being dubbed as one of the Four Asian Tigers along with Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. It is a member of both ...
*
Economy of Taiwan
The economy of Taiwan is a highly developed market economy. It is the 8th largest in Asia and 18th-largest in the world by purchasing power parity, allowing Taiwan to be included in the advanced economies group by the International Monetary ...
*
Energy in Taiwan
Taiwan relies on imports for almost 98% of its energy in 2016, which leaves the island's energy supply vulnerable to external disruption. In order to reduce this dependence, the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Bureau of Energy has been actively pr ...
*
Ministry of Economic Affairs (Taiwan)
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA; ) is the ministry of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for formulating policy and laws for industry and trade, foreign direct investment, energy, minerals, measurement standards, intellectual prop ...
*
Taiwan Power Company
The Taiwan Power Company (, Taipower; ) is a state-owned electric power industry providing electricity to Taiwan and off-shore islands of the Republic of China.
History
Taipower was established on 1 May 1946. Its origins can be traced to 1919 ...
*
Taiwan Water Corporation
References
External links
CPC homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:CPC Corporation
Chinese companies established in 1946
Energy companies established in 1946
Oil and gas companies of Taiwan
Chemical companies established in 1946
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1946
Government-owned companies of Taiwan
Companies based in Kaohsiung
National oil and gas companies