Taiwanese company agrees to stop buying Russian naphtha after environmental report

Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corporation (FPCC) has agreed to halt purchases of Russian naphtha following an investigation by several environmental organizations, which found that Taiwan had become the world’s leading importer of the resource in the first half of 2025, largely due to increased imports by FPCC. A summary of the report was previously published by The Insider.

According to a statement by the environmental group Ekozashchita! (lit. “Ecodefense!”), Taiwan’s Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin said that FPCC’s contracts for Russian oil are set to expire soon and that the company does not intend to renew them. He had earlier said Taiwan would “respect and abide by EU and G7 norms” and confirmed that the ministry had held talks with the company, though the results of those discussions were not disclosed.

Despite ending purchases of naphtha, the company continues to import Russian coal.

“We urge FPCC to take the next responsible step and cease importing Russian coal, particularly from entities under sanctions. At the same time, we call on the government to move from reactive measures to proactive oversight to prevent similar situations in the future,” Ekozashchita! said in its statement.