Kaohsiung: CPC Corp. Taiwan will be fined up to NT$5 million (US$168,845) for violating the Air Pollution Control Act after a flare stack at its Dalin refinery in Kaohsiung released excessive pollutants early Sunday morning, according to the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB).

According to Focus Taiwan, the EPB reported that the incident was triggered by a compressor trip at the refinery’s heavy oil catalytic cracking unit (M33), which occurred at 2:43 a.m. and was flagged by its AI cloud monitoring system. The failure of compressor C-1101 led to an emergency shutdown and the diversion of process gases to the flare stack, resulting in significant particulate emissions.

The bureau stated that the event constituted a breach of pollution regulations and would result in a fine ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$5 million. A local resident captured the flare and smoke on video and posted it to social media, prompting widespread concern.

CPC issued a statement on Sunday claiming the excessive flaring was part of a pressure release at a heavy oil cracking unit that had already been shut down according to standard procedures. The company noted that the shutdown occurred Saturday afternoon and had been reported to authorities.