Syngas News Roundup

Syngas News

UNITED STATES

Methanex buys OCI Global’s international methanol business

Methanex Corporation has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire OCI Global’s international methanol business for $2.05 billion. The transaction includes OCI’s interest in two world-scale methanol facilities in Beaumont, Texas, one of which also produces ammonia. The transaction also includes a low-carbon methanol production and marketing business and a currently idled methanol facility in the Netherlands.

“This is a unique opportunity to create value by acquiring two highly attractive North American methanol assets that will further strengthen our global production base and we expect it will be immediately accretive to free cash flow per share,” said Rich Sumner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Methanex. “The Beaumont plants benefit from access to North America’s abundant and favourably-priced supply of natural gas feedstock, and are expected to increase our global methanol production by over 20%.”

Nassef Sawiris, Executive Chairman of OCI, added, “We are pleased with the opportunity to achieve a significant ownership position and are highly confident in Methanex’s ability to create enduring value for shareholders. As the global leader committed to safety and operational excellence, we identified Methanex as the natural owner of OCI Methanol at the outset of our strategic process, which we initiated in the spring of 2023.”

Methanex says that the acquisition enhances its asset portfolio with highly attractive assets in a low-risk jurisdiction that has an ample and economic supply of feedstock natural gas. It also expects to achieve approximately $30 million of annual cost synergies from lower logistics costs and lower selling, general and administrative expenses. OCI’s ammonia production, while modest compared with its methanol production, also provides Methanex with a low-risk entry into a new and synergistic commodity in an adjacent and complementary segment to methanol with similar feedstock-based advantages.

OCI’s assets include a methanol facility in Beaumont, Texas with capacity of 910,000 t/a of methanol and 340,000 t/a of ammonia, and a 50% interest in a second methanol facility also in Beaumont, Texas, operated by the joint venture Natgasoline LLC. Natgasoline was commissioned in 2018 and has an annual capacity of 1.7 million t/a of methanol, of which Methanex’s share will be 850,000 t/a. There is also a methanol facility in Delfzijl, Netherlands with capacity to produce 1 million t/a of methanol. This facility is not currently in production due to unfavourable pricing for natural gas feedstock.

Closing of the transaction is expected in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals.

SAUDI ARABIA

Chemanol awards methanol plant expansion project

Chemanol has awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services contract for the expansion of its methanol plant in Jubail to US energy engineering and construction company McDermott. The contract value was not disclosed, but the project is due for completion in 4Q 2027. Chemanol said in a statement that the project “represents a major step forward in increasing the energy efficiency of the asset while expanding its capacity and ultimately bringing value to the company’s shareholders.”

Ali Abdulaziz Alturki, Chairman of the Board of Chemanol, said: “We are thrilled to work on this important project with McDermott which not only contributes to Chemanol’s sustainability and growth plans but also paves the way for more long-term strategic collaborations with McDermott.”

Chemanol is an integrated producer of methanol and chemical derivatives and is also one of the world’s largest formaldehyde and derivatives producers situated in a single location, with a total annual production capacity of 1 million t/a.

Chemanol’s existing site, Al Jubail.

PHOTO: CHEMANOL

NORWAY

Solution for large-scale green hydrogen production

Nel ASA’s EPC partner Saipem has launched IVHY™ 100, a scalable modular 100 MW green hydrogen solution leveraging Nel’s technology. It has been designed to be scalable and modular to facilitate the installation and commissioning of large-scale systems and is powered by Nel’s alkaline electrolysers, which have demonstrated robustness, durability, and energy efficiency. The project is part of a collaboration between the two companies, where Nel, as the technology provider, will offer its alkaline and PEM (proton exchange membrane) electrolyser technology as well as ancillary technical services, and Saipem, as the engineering service provider and EPC contractor, will be responsible for the basic design, detailed engineering, procurement and construction of the overall green hydrogen facilities.

SWEDEN

Worley to provide FEED for green methanol facility

Worley has entered into an agreement with Liquid Wind to provide preliminary front-end engineering design for Uniper’s NorthStarH2 green methanol facility in Östersund. The facility, which is being developed by Liquid Wind on behalf of Uniper, aims to produce over 100,000 t/a of methanol to help decarbonise shipping and chemical industries. Worley says that its focus during the pre-FEED will be on the balance of the plant, which encompasses all supporting systems and infrastructure necessary for the facility’s operation.

Jan Narvestad, Senior Vice President, Nordics, commented: “We’re excited to collaborate with Uniper and Liquid Wind to unlock the potential of the NorthStarH2 project and help balance the global dependence on fossil fuels.”

AUSTRALIA

Contracts awarded for concentrated solar-powered green methanol plant

Vast Renewables, along with German partner Mabanaft, has awarded international engineering group Fichtner and German e-fuels developer bse Methanol contracts to commence pre-front-end engineering and design work for the Solar Methanol 1 project. The facility, to be located near Port Augusta in South Australia, is to include a 10 MW electrolyser capable of producing 7,500 t/a of green methanol. The facility will be powered by a co-located 30 MW concentrated solar thermal plant using Vast’s CSP technology to generate zero-carbon electricity and industrial process heat.

NIGERIA

Brass methanol project signs feedstock agreement

Brass Fertilizer Petrochemical Company Ltd (BFPCL) has reportedly closed a gas sales and purchase agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and Shell Petroleum Development Company JV. The agreement brings the $3.3 billion project closer to financial closure and execution. BFPCL has also recently signed agreements with the China Road and Bridge Corporation for construction of the Brass industrial park, methanol plant, and gas gathering pipelines, and has secured a joint venture agreement with COSCO Shipping Lines for 16 new 50,000 tonne methanol-powered vessels, valued at approximately $900 million. The ships will transport methanol and other products from the Brass Methanol Plant to global destinations. Brass is being part financed by Chinese investors. Including Bohai Chemical Industries Group and the China Africa Development Fund. Financial closure for the project is expected by December 31, 2024.

EUROPEAN UNION

EU regulations will boost value of methanol in shipping

A new white paper prepared for the Methanol Institute by Dr Jeroen Dierickx, an energy and fuel expert at iDefossilise, has concluded that the FuelEU Maritime Regulation and EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) will create a level playing field for bio- and e-methanol, making them economically competitive compared to fossil marine fuels. Under the EU’s Fit for 55 regulatory package, vessel operators are incentivized to transition to these sustainable fuels through significant penalties levied on continued fossil fuel use. For fuel producers, the regulations offer a stable, long-term framework from 2024 to 2050, paving the way for secure investment opportunities in the maritime sector.

Gregory Dolan, CEO of the Methanol Institute, said: ‘’The study confirms the profound impact of regulations on the demand for methanol as a marine fuel. The findings indicate that the emerging EU regulatory framework is robust enough to enhance the business case for low-carbon and renewable methanol fuels and fuel blends, supporting the transition to a sustainable maritime industry.’’

Assessment of biogas roll-out

The European Biogas Association (EBA), in collaboration with experts in biogas and methanation technologies, has published its first assessment of the rollout of ‘e-methane’ in Europe. It hopes that the synthetic renewable fuel will play a key role in Europe’s electricity grid, scaling-up biomethane production in the coming years, and enabling innovative synergies between biogases and hydrogen production in the future energy mix. In the methanation process, renewable hydrogen produced from excess renewable electricity combines with biogenic CO2 from raw biogas to produce e-methane, which can be stored in the gas grid.

According to the white paper there are currently 35 operational plants, 33 of which are fully renewable. Germany leads the way with 14 facilities. Additionally, 20 new e-methane plants are either planned or under construction in Europe, signalling further growth in the sector. Over the past eight years, e-methane production capacity in Europe has increased from 20 GWh per year to 449 GWh per year. Projections indicate that by 2027, this capacity will nearly reach 3,000 GWh per year, equivalent to 0.27 billion cubic meters (bcm). Finland, Germany, and Denmark are pioneering this rollout, with the largest production capacities.

GERMANY

Biomass balanced ammonia

Evonik and BASF have announced an agreement for the first delivery of BASF’s ammonia BMBcertTM grade. BASF says that the product offers Evonik a solution with a product carbon footprint at least 65% lower than conventional products. BASF says that it applies a biomass balance approach to replace fossil resources at the beginning of the production process with certified biomethane from biowaste raw materials which are attributed to the product. The mass-balanced product is certified according to ISCC PLUS standards. In addition, BASF is using electricity from renewable sources for the manufacture of the ammonia, further reducing its carbon footprint.

Evonik plans to incorporate the lower carbon ammonia into its production of sustainable products like polyamide for applications like shoe soles, sunglasses, gas pipes, safety-related automotive parts and many more. “We are excited to partner with BASF to source ammonia with a reduced carbon footprint for our eCO products. This collaboration underscores our commitment to environmental stewardship and our ability to innovate in a rapidly changing market”, said Silvia Torrado, Global Procurement Director for Base Petrochemicals at Evonik.

VIETNAM

NextChem to upgrade hydrogen plant

NextChem says that its hydrogen technologies licensing subsidiary KT Tech has been awarded the licensing and the process design package for a new hydrogen production unit by the Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Joint Stock Company as part of a larger upgrading and expansion project at the Dung Quat Refinery in Vietnam. KT Tech will design the new hydrogen production unit with a capacity of 22,676 Nm3/h, leveraging its proprietary technology. This technology, which is part of its NX ReformTM hydrogen technology portfolio, enables cost-effective hydrogen production and offers the potential to reduce the carbon footprint by incorporating CO2 capture technology, with flexibility in feedstock and capacity. The technology is based on proven and widely adopted steam methane reforming. Once the project reaches the construction phase, KT Tech will also supply the proprietary equipment for the steam methane reforming process.

Alessandro Bernini, CEO of NerxtChem’s parent group Maire, commented, “We are proud of this important achievement, which confirms our excellent track-record in upgrading existing production plants to enhance efficiency and achieving lower consumptions, thanks to our leading technological know-how and unparalleled process engineering capabilities.”