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Project(s): View 8 related projects in PECWeb
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Released September 15, 2014 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Foreign investment in the U.S. has increased substantially as a result of abundant and low-cost natural gas. In a growing number of cases, international companies are finding it more economical to build and operate production plants in the U.S. and ship the product overseas.
This year alone, Chinese-owned companies have proposed construction of four methanol plants in the U.S., with plans to export most of the product to emerging Asian markets. These proposed projects would bring almost $10 billion of investment to the U.S. in construction costs alone.
View Project Report - 300153891 300153892 300174799 300153893 300153894 300173955 300175544 300175556
Two of the plants have been proposed along the West Coast in Oregon and Washington, while the other two are planned for the Gulf Coast. These locations are ideal, due to the West Coast's proximity to Asia and the Gulf Coast's concentration of shale gas, as well as with the added advantage of the pending expansion of the Panama Canal.
While these plants are all in an early planning phase, two could receive final approval and project construction could start as early as next year.
Jilin Connell Chemical Industry Company Limited (Jilin, China) is evaluating potential sites for its methanol plant project, which might be built in Texas City, Texas, or Donaldsonville, Louisiana. At this point, it is more likely to be built in the Shoal Point area of Texas City, since a site there already has been secured. Jilin Connell expects to choose a location by mid-2015, with construction to kick off by the end of the year. The 7.2 million-ton-per-year plant would cost $4.5 billion, one of the highest investments seen by the U.S. chemical industry in recent years.
Northwest Innovation Works LLC (Vancouver, Washington), a company with several Chinese investors, including Shanghai Bi Ke Clean Energy Technology Company Limited (Shanghai, China), plans to build a 5,000-tonne-per-day methanol plant in Kalama, Washington. If all goes according to plan, construction of the $1 billion plant could begin in September 2015, with completion in fourth-quarter 2017. Installation of a second 5,000-tonne-per-year production unit almost a year later is already under discussion, which would bring the plant's entire capacity to 10,000 tonnes per day upon completion in 2020.
Construction of an additional two plants is expected to begin in the next few years.
In addition to the Kalama projects, Northwest Innovation plans to build a similar-sized plant and additional unit at Clatskanie, Oregon. The project is on schedule for construction beginning in 2016.
Yuhuang Chemical Incorporated, a subsidiary of Shandong Yuhuang Chemical (Group) Company Limited (Shanghai, China), also is planning to construct a plant on the Gulf Coast in St. James, Louisiana. Construction of the first unit is expected to kick off in 2016, with another unit planned for construction beginning in 2018, and a methanol derivatives unit in 2020.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
This year alone, Chinese-owned companies have proposed construction of four methanol plants in the U.S., with plans to export most of the product to emerging Asian markets. These proposed projects would bring almost $10 billion of investment to the U.S. in construction costs alone.
View Project Report - 300153891 300153892 300174799 300153893 300153894 300173955 300175544 300175556
Two of the plants have been proposed along the West Coast in Oregon and Washington, while the other two are planned for the Gulf Coast. These locations are ideal, due to the West Coast's proximity to Asia and the Gulf Coast's concentration of shale gas, as well as with the added advantage of the pending expansion of the Panama Canal.
While these plants are all in an early planning phase, two could receive final approval and project construction could start as early as next year.
Jilin Connell Chemical Industry Company Limited (Jilin, China) is evaluating potential sites for its methanol plant project, which might be built in Texas City, Texas, or Donaldsonville, Louisiana. At this point, it is more likely to be built in the Shoal Point area of Texas City, since a site there already has been secured. Jilin Connell expects to choose a location by mid-2015, with construction to kick off by the end of the year. The 7.2 million-ton-per-year plant would cost $4.5 billion, one of the highest investments seen by the U.S. chemical industry in recent years.
Northwest Innovation Works LLC (Vancouver, Washington), a company with several Chinese investors, including Shanghai Bi Ke Clean Energy Technology Company Limited (Shanghai, China), plans to build a 5,000-tonne-per-day methanol plant in Kalama, Washington. If all goes according to plan, construction of the $1 billion plant could begin in September 2015, with completion in fourth-quarter 2017. Installation of a second 5,000-tonne-per-year production unit almost a year later is already under discussion, which would bring the plant's entire capacity to 10,000 tonnes per day upon completion in 2020.
Construction of an additional two plants is expected to begin in the next few years.
In addition to the Kalama projects, Northwest Innovation plans to build a similar-sized plant and additional unit at Clatskanie, Oregon. The project is on schedule for construction beginning in 2016.
Yuhuang Chemical Incorporated, a subsidiary of Shandong Yuhuang Chemical (Group) Company Limited (Shanghai, China), also is planning to construct a plant on the Gulf Coast in St. James, Louisiana. Construction of the first unit is expected to kick off in 2016, with another unit planned for construction beginning in 2018, and a methanol derivatives unit in 2020.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
