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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Global demand for methanol is not letting up, and the U.S. is adding the chemical product to its growing list of exports. Industrial Info is tracking more than $6.7 billion worth of U.S. methanol projects that are nearing or under construction.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing all active methanol project in the U.S., by state.
Not surprisingly, nearly all of the total investment value is attributed to projects in Louisiana, where the Chemical Processing Industry is seeing a renaissance due, in part, to the natural gas boom. Zero Emission Energy Plants Limited (ZEEP) (Austin, Texas) is preparing to begin construction early next year on its $1.4 billion South Louisiana Methanol Plant in Saint James, Louisiana. It is expected to convert 180,000 million British thermal units per day of natural gas feedstock into about 5,300 metric tons day of methanol. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Foreign-owned companies also play a significant role in Louisiana's methanol industry. Yuhuang Chemical Incorporated, a subsidiary of Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Company Limited (Linyi, China), is at work on a $1.4 billion methanol plant and $100 million in related outside battery limit (OSBL) additions in Saint James. The first of a three-phase project, the plant is expected to produce about 1.9 million tons per year of methanol; when the second phase is complete, the plant will have a capacity of 3.3 million tons per year.
The project was placed on hold in 2016 after prices plummeted, but resumed in early 2017 after prices improved and financing was more fully secured. About 40% to 60% of the product will exported to China, while 20% to 30% will be shipped by barge and rail to North American customers; the remainder will be used as captive feedstock for future downstream derivatives. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the plant and OSBL additions.
Next door in Texas, OCI Beaumont LLC is preparing to kick off $6 million in upgrades and replacements at its methanol and ammonia plant in Nederland, including a new syngas turbine for the ammonia train and an overhaul of the syngas turbine on the methanol train. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
OCI Beaumont has a big reason to celebrate its role in the methanol industry: Earlier this month, it joined partners Consolidated Energy Limited (Worthing, Barbados) and Natgasoline LLC in achieving provisional acceptance for its 1.75 million metric-ton-per-annum methanol plant in Beaumont, Texas, after it passed licensor performance tests. The companies announced in a press release that the plant, which was completed in April and started production at the end of June, has been running consistently above nameplate capacity in recent weeks. It represents the only new methanol capacity expected to be brought online in the Americas this year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
"The speed with which the facility reached full utilization shortly after initial start-up is impressive," said Nassef Sawiris, the chief executive officer of OCI, in a press release. "The successful ramp-up of production at [the Beaumont plant] marks the culmination of OCI's greenfield capacity expansion in the U.S., thus providing an enhanced platform to serve our customers better."
Looking eastward, US Methanol LLC (Charleston, West Virginia) is responding to the growth in methanol demand with a $200 million overhaul of its LibertyOne plant in Institute, West Virginia. The company is updating and refurbishing a long-idled, 175,000-metric-ton-per-year facility with new reformers, a synthesis unit, a distillation unit and eight storage tanks. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Interstate Chemical Company Incorporated (Hermitage, Pennsylvania) expects to wrap up a $20 million methanol unit addition at its sodium methylate and methanol plant in Oregon, Ohio, in the coming weeks. The 250 tons produced per day will be sold to the biodiesel industry. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 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. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing all active methanol project in the U.S., by state.Not surprisingly, nearly all of the total investment value is attributed to projects in Louisiana, where the Chemical Processing Industry is seeing a renaissance due, in part, to the natural gas boom. Zero Emission Energy Plants Limited (ZEEP) (Austin, Texas) is preparing to begin construction early next year on its $1.4 billion South Louisiana Methanol Plant in Saint James, Louisiana. It is expected to convert 180,000 million British thermal units per day of natural gas feedstock into about 5,300 metric tons day of methanol. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Foreign-owned companies also play a significant role in Louisiana's methanol industry. Yuhuang Chemical Incorporated, a subsidiary of Shandong Yuhuang Chemical Company Limited (Linyi, China), is at work on a $1.4 billion methanol plant and $100 million in related outside battery limit (OSBL) additions in Saint James. The first of a three-phase project, the plant is expected to produce about 1.9 million tons per year of methanol; when the second phase is complete, the plant will have a capacity of 3.3 million tons per year.
The project was placed on hold in 2016 after prices plummeted, but resumed in early 2017 after prices improved and financing was more fully secured. About 40% to 60% of the product will exported to China, while 20% to 30% will be shipped by barge and rail to North American customers; the remainder will be used as captive feedstock for future downstream derivatives. For more information, see Industrial Info's project reports on the plant and OSBL additions.
Next door in Texas, OCI Beaumont LLC is preparing to kick off $6 million in upgrades and replacements at its methanol and ammonia plant in Nederland, including a new syngas turbine for the ammonia train and an overhaul of the syngas turbine on the methanol train. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
OCI Beaumont has a big reason to celebrate its role in the methanol industry: Earlier this month, it joined partners Consolidated Energy Limited (Worthing, Barbados) and Natgasoline LLC in achieving provisional acceptance for its 1.75 million metric-ton-per-annum methanol plant in Beaumont, Texas, after it passed licensor performance tests. The companies announced in a press release that the plant, which was completed in April and started production at the end of June, has been running consistently above nameplate capacity in recent weeks. It represents the only new methanol capacity expected to be brought online in the Americas this year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
"The speed with which the facility reached full utilization shortly after initial start-up is impressive," said Nassef Sawiris, the chief executive officer of OCI, in a press release. "The successful ramp-up of production at [the Beaumont plant] marks the culmination of OCI's greenfield capacity expansion in the U.S., thus providing an enhanced platform to serve our customers better."
Looking eastward, US Methanol LLC (Charleston, West Virginia) is responding to the growth in methanol demand with a $200 million overhaul of its LibertyOne plant in Institute, West Virginia. The company is updating and refurbishing a long-idled, 175,000-metric-ton-per-year facility with new reformers, a synthesis unit, a distillation unit and eight storage tanks. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Interstate Chemical Company Incorporated (Hermitage, Pennsylvania) expects to wrap up a $20 million methanol unit addition at its sodium methylate and methanol plant in Oregon, Ohio, in the coming weeks. The 250 tons produced per day will be sold to the biodiesel industry. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 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. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com/.
