Methanol shutdowns cause anxiety

Journal Article · Wed Oct 23 04:00:00 EDT 1996 · Chemical Week

OSTI ID:494302

Thomas, N

European methanol players face an anxious few weeks as unscheduled outages combine with planned turnarounds to make an increasingly tight market. Global markets are also described as tightening, with production problems widely reported in North America. Several European producers were in the middle of shutdown periods when problems at Condea`s 400,000-m.t./year unit at Wesseling, Germany reportedly caused production to run at only 50% of capacity. In addition, the methanol plant at the Leuna refinery is said to be operating at only 60% of capacity, and one producer has had to extend a turnaround period. River levels in Germany are also low, putting pressure on shipments from Rotterdam. {open_quotes}This is a very difficult situation and we`re living hand to mouth,{close_quotes} says one producer. Producer sources report bids from consumers up to DM280/m.t. T2 fob Rotterdam, but they are unable to obtain extra product. Derivatives makers may also face problems: One methyl tert-butyl ether producer predicts prices {open_quotes}may hit the roof{close_quotes} once feedstock sourcing problems hit home.

• OSTI ID: 494302
• Journal Information: Chemical Week, Journal Name: Chemical Week Journal Issue: 40 Vol. 158; ISSN CHWKA9; ISSN 0009-272X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
09 BIOMASS FUELS
10 SYNTHETIC FUELS
CHEMICAL INDUSTRY
METHANOL
PRODUCTION
SUPPLY AND DEMAND