Industry: Methanol & ammonia

Low natural gas prices have helped in driving new attention and interest to natural gas monetization options, which will play an important role in spurring natural gas demand. One promising gas monetization option is the production of methanol using small-scale plants.  Conceptually, small-scale methanol plants offer a number of advantages. The first advantage is that […]

Abundant, low-cost North American natural gas is incentivizing its monetization as LNG for marine fuel, driven by price advantages over diesel and the benefit of meeting environmental regulations.

At the Methanol Conference in 2015, the presentation “Natural Gas Utilization via Small-Scale Methanol Technologies” explored growing interest in North American natural gas monetization. An abundant supply of cheap natural gas drives this interest. It highlights key factors. Gas flaring, favorable pricing, mature product markets, and diverse end-uses propel interest in small-scale methanol. The discussion […]

AMERICAS Dunkin’ Donuts seeking replacement of EPS cup Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. has looked for alternatives to expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam cups for its coffee cups. Currently, polypropylene foam cups from Berry Plastics Group have been considered the best alternative to EPS foam cups. Dunkin’ Donuts also seeks a new and recyclable lid to be […]

Stricter marine emissions regulations drive interest in cleaner fuels; abundant North American shale gas offers LNG and methanol as lower-emission alternatives to traditional fuels.

Ammonia production, a mature and widely practiced method, provides established natural gas monetization.

AMERICAS   Shintech to build new ethylene unit at Iberville Parish facility   Shintech, the largest PVC producer in North America, will invest USD 1.4 billion for a new ethane cracker installed at its facility in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, as well as infrastructures that connect ethylene output to VCM and PVC units. The new plant […]

AMERICAS   Nova Chemicals evaluating new PE plant   Canada-headquartered Nova Chemicals is considering building a new PE plant and might have a final decision within 12-18 months. If this PE project realizes, the PE plant would benefit from its expansion project of cracker in Corunna, Canada which is due on stream in 2017. In […]

MTG projects offer higher returns than GTL due to lower capital costs and infrastructure compatibility, making them attractive in North America’s shale gas market.

We are blogging regularly on various oil and gas, energy, and chemical industry topics. Read our recent views on North American methanol projects.

AMERICAS   ExxonMobil launches new Vistamaxx grade   ExxonMobil has introduced a new propylene-based elastomers grade, Vistamaxx3588FL. The new material offers good heat seal properties with excellent processability in cPP and BOPP film applications. Comments: Snack, biscuit, and candy packaging in China and Southeast Asia are expected to be some of the highest growth areas […]

AMERICAS Borealis to invest in PP compounding in Brazil Borealis has completed the expansion of its PP compounding facility in Itatiba, Brazil. The expansion was completed with an investment of about USD 48 million. The expansion project included the addition of two new lines; the output from the new lines will be sold to automotive […]