New Methanex methanol plant

The Methanex Corporation has announced that on 27 December 2015, the company successfully produced the first methanol from its newly completed one million tonne Geismar 2 methanol plant in Geismar, Louisiana. The plant was relocated from the company's production site in Punta Arenas, Chile.

John Floren, President and CEO of Methanex said, "We are extremely pleased to announce that our Geismar 2 plant is producing methanol roughly three months ahead of our original schedule. We expect the plant to ramp up to full production rates over the coming weeks. With the start up of Geismar 2, we have successfully grown our operating capacity by approximately three million tonnes over the last three years.

The total combined cost for the completion of the two Geismar plants is approximatelyUS$1.4 billion. We believe this represents a substantial cost savings relative to a new build plant, and we expect the Geismar 2 plant will create significant cash flow and value for shareholders."

Floren added, "Our team has done an excellent job of managing the complex and multidimensional undertaking of relocating two plants from Chile to Louisiana. The project was completed ahead of schedule with excellent safety and environmental performance. A sincere thanks to all of the team members throughout the organisation who have worked so hard to achieve this important milestone."

Adapted from press release by Francesca Brindle

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/04012016/one-million-tonne-methanol-plant-for-methanex-2047/