Sharq Village & Spa
Strategize for profitability amidst volatile production & pricing realities at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech meet.
Even as China and the Middle East continue their dominance as major methanol producers, the prospects for the immediate future indicate price volatilities and margins squeeze accompanied by feedstock sourcing challenges.
Plan while you CAN for the Petrochemical slowdown is the call from these key methanol producers as they share their strategies at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech conference, to be held on 17-18 February in the beautiful Sharq Village & Spa in Doha, QATAR.
This meet features an expert panel of industry leaders, leading producers, decision makers and market players to discuss issues
and challenges ahead.
Mark 17-18 February 2009 on your calendars right now & join this premier gathering of the Methanol sector to identify the newest market opportunities & forge lasting business relationships.
Attendance at the two action-packed days of 4th Methanol Markets & Tech will guarantee regional and global supply/demand fundamentals, insights on the derivatives markets, future outlets for growth, logistics, and related technology and engineering issues.
Don’t miss out on insights from the following Industry Experts, Top Executives and Scientists at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech sessions focused on:-
1. METHANOL ECONOMICS OUTLOOK
2. METHANOL PRODUCER PERSPECTIVES
3. UPCOMING METHANOL PROJECTS
4. ENGINEERING, PROCUREMENT & CONSTRUCTION (EPC) CHALLENGES
5. METHANOL DERIVATIVES MARKET DEVELOPMENT
6. EMERGING APPLICATIONS FOR METHANOL
1. METHANOL ECONOMICS OUTLOOK: -
Global Methanol Market Overview
Graham Hoar- Manager, Gas Based Chemicals- NEXANT
Opening the 4th Methanol Markets & Tech will be Graham Hoar of Nexant, as he provides a global overview of the Methanol industry.
Speaking on the topic “Delivering Value in a Volatile World”, Mr. Hoar will touch on feedstock issues, market dynamics, capital costs, pricing strategies to turn in a profit in today’s volatile methanol market.
Mr. Hoar will present an excellent starting point for the exciting line up of speakers that 4th Methanol Markets & Tech will have in store for attendees.
Economic Outlook & Financing Challenges for (Middle East) Methanol Projects
Christophe Mariot- MD, Energy, Commodity, Project Finance- BNP PARIBAS
What is the current economic outlook for the methanol industry? What are the financing challenges for upcoming projects?
Christopher Mariot, MD of Energy at BNP Paribas group will answer these critical questions at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech.
Focusing on the Middle East, the Methanol production growth region, Mr. Mariot will provide his insights on the impact of the Global economic slowdown on the Middle East, and the impact of volatile oil prices and its impact on the petrochemical sector and methanol production.
Mr. Mariot will also touch on the financing challenges for methanol projects, a not to be missed portion that will provide investors and project developers with an insight on the risks and barriers to setting up new methanol projects in the current global scenario.
2. METHANOL PRODUCER PERSPECTIVES: -
SAUDI ARABIA- TASNEE Experience with Mega Methanol Projects
Sameer Al Humaidan- Vice President Technical Affairs, TASNEE
TASNEE’s mega-methanol plant in Jubail has a capacity of 1.8m t/a, with production mainly for export worldwide.
Hear from TASNEE at 4th Methanol Markets & Techas they share their perspectives as one of the major methanol producers in the world, on global demand and supply, and how they plan to react and respond to the upcoming petrochemical slowdown.
Mr. Al Humaidan will touch on TASNEE’s experience managing a Mega-Methanol project, and provide his perspectives on whether a ‘mega’ project is the way forward for the methanol production sector.
>>Benefit from TASNEE’s project management expertise. CLICK To Register for 4th Methanol Markets & Tech & confirm your participation at this critical meet! <<
CHINA- Coal to Methanol & Downstream Production Outlook
Yue Guo- Deputy General Manager, SHENHUA COAL LIQUEFACTION
Coal is a relatively cheap methanol feedstock, and for countries that do have abundant supplies like China, it has the ability to be an alternative to traditional feedstocks.
At 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, Yue Guo, Shenhua’s deputy general manager in charge of the coal liquefaction department will share Shenhua’s experience in converting coal to methanol.
INDIA- Assam Petrochemical’s role in India’s Methanol Economy
Shri O P Tailor- Managing Director, ASSAM PETROCHEMICALS
India’s Assam Petrochemicals Limited was incorporated in 1971 with the aim of productive utilization of natural gas, which was being flared up in the Upper Assam oil fields. The company was a pioneer in the field as it was the first to manufacture Methanol in India using natural gas as feedstock.
Assam Petrochemicals Ltd (APL) is planning to set up a new methanol plant at Namrup with a production capacity of 165,000 tonne per year, at an investment cost of $ 125 million.
At 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, you will hear from Shri O P Tailor, Managing Director of ASSAM PETROCHEMICALS as he share his perspectives on the future plans of Assam Petrochemicals, running a successful Methanol project in India and the short and long term expansion plans embraced by the company.
MALAYSIA- PETRONAS’ NEW Methanol Production & Marketing Plans
Syed Othman Bin Abu Bakar- MD, PETRONAS Methanol Labuan Sdn Bhd
PETRONAS Methanol Labuan Sdn Bhd fired up its mega methanol plant package boiler in May, and began commercial production in September 2008. The large scale production plant, which uses Lurgi's mega methanol technology, has a production capacity of 5,000 tonnes per day or 1.7 million tonnes a year. The methanol, produced from Natural Gas from Sabah’s off shore fields, will be exported to growing markets in Southeast Asia, and KEY Methanol Importing countries including India, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
At 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, hear from Syed Othman Bin Abu Bakar, as he shares his company’s marketing and promotional strategies and how PETRONAS Methanol will address the challenge posed by the global credit crunch.
3. UPCOMING METHANOL PROJECTS :-
EGYPT-Establishing a Methanol Production Facility in Egypt
Michael MacDonald- Senior VP Corporate Development, METHANEX
Egypt’s rise as a Methanol production hub is aimed at enhancing and diversifying global methanol supply, and is led by Methanex Cooperation.
Methanex Corporation's affiliate, EMethanex, is currently constructing a 1.26 million tonne per year methanol facility at Damietta on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. Commercial production from the project is expected in early 2010, and Methanex will off take 100% of the methanol.
At 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, hear from Methanex Senior VP Corporate Development Mr. Michael MacDonald on Methanex’s experience in setting up a Methanol project in Egypt, and the future of the Methanol sector in Egypt. He will provide a status update on the EMethanex project, and discuss new methanol demand opportunities and profit and production strategies that EMethanex will undertake when it comes into production in 2010.
4. ENGINEERING, PROCUREMENT & CONSTRUCTION
(EPC) CHALLENGES :-
SUCCESS Story- Giant Methanol Plant / Ar-Razi 5 (Saudi Arabia)
Masato Matsuzawa- MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES, Ltd.
Saudi Methanol Co’s mega methanol plant in Saudi Arabia came on stream in May this year, and was the result of a joint venture between Saudi Basic Industries Corp’s (SABIC) and a consortium of Japanese companies of which Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd was a part of. Ar-Razi 5 will add 1.7m tonnes/year of methanol capacity to the company’s output at Al-Jubail, making Saudi Methanol one of the largest methanol producers in the world.
At 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, hear from Mr. Masato Matsuzawa, process engineer at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited and in charge of the Ar-Razi 5 construction process, as he shares his experiences on the successful opening of Ar-Razi 5. Mr. Matsuzawa will also touch on some of the upcoming EPC challenges at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech.
5. METHANOL DERIVATIVES MARKET DEVELOPMENT:-
Formaldehyde- Market Opportunities amidst Challenges
Addressed by RaviRaghavan- Editor, CHEMICAL WEEKLY
A booming and robust economic expansion in China has increased demand for formaldehyde in the wood resin applications, driving up consumption of formaldehyde. Asia is clearly leading the growth, with focus being on the tilization of wood resins. Growth rates for formaldehyde consumption have been steady until the global credit crunch hit.
What are the upcoming market opportunities in Formaldehyde amidst the challenges of the current market conditions? Ravi Raghavan, editor of the widely read Chemical Weekly will answer this critical question in his speech at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech.
In part one of his Derivatives focus, Mr. Raghavan will discuss the macro-economic growth drivers for formaldehyde, and touch on the impact the current global economic slowdown will have on the sector. He will then touch on the current industry structure, with a brief look at formaldehyde derivatives and their demand. He will proceed to give his insights into the demand supply scenario for formaldehyde development, and touch on the upcoming growth prospects in the end-use sectors.
Acetic Acid- From Petrochemicals & Renewables
Asia has become the largest acetic acid production base in the world today. It is also the region with the most new acetic acid units constructed in recent years.
What will be the impact of the current economic situation on Acetic Acid markets? In part two of his derivatives focus, Mr. Ravi Raghavan will address the latest developments in Acetic Acid production from both methanol and other renewable sources.
He will touch on the industry structure, and provide his analysis on the market share of molasses-based acetic acid producers and methanol based producers. He will also touch on growth prospects for acetic acid, with a SPECIAL focus on the impact of the current global economic scenario on growth. He will also touch on the feedstock supply outlook and provide his projections for future demand-supply dynamics for Acetic Acid worldwide.
6. EMERGING APPLICATIONS FOR METHANOL :-
Fertilizer Production- Methanol & Fertilizer Production Technology
METHANOL CASALE S.A
Methanol Casale SA, part of Switzerland’s Casale group, is currently leading the way forward with their latest development in retrofitting existing methanol plants to produce ammonia, and converting ammonia production facilities to produce methanol.
This latest development will increase global methanol supply, as well as provide existing methanol producers will an alternative revenue stream from their production facility.
At 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, Methanol Casale S.A will share on the technology and challenges behind converting existing methanol facilities to produce ammonium and fertilizers, and touch on some of the current conversion projects and new projects that they are working on.
Olefins Production- Case Study for Methanol to Olefins Technology
John Swift- Regional Sales Manager, UOP LLC (A Honeywell Company)
Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) technology is more cost effective than traditional olefin production from crude oil derived feedstocks, and is currently the hottest alternative methanol application that is gaining interest from methanol producers and investors all over the world.
MTO’s major plus is its lower cost of production and higher returns on investment, as compared to naphtha crackers in light of high crude oil market prices, and provide methanol producers with an alternative application in their methanol production facility.
The technology, which was first introduced by UOP LLC revolutionized the methanol sector.
At 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, hear from John Swift, Regional Sales Manager at UOP LLC, as he shares a case study on MTO and how it can provide methanol project developers and producers with a steady source growth in these tough times.
Transport Fuel- Current Developments in Application of Methanol as Transport Fuel & Application Analysis of China’s Market
Zhang Zhifu- Methanol Project Manager, CHERY AUTOMOBILE
China’s Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. unveiled prototype methanol-fueled cars at their research base in northern China's Shanxi Province in end 2007, where the aggregated sales volume of methanol gas oil was more than 500,000 tons, the consumption volume of methanol gas oil was more than 130,000 tons and over 770 methanol filling stations was established, including 17 high-content methanol filling stations.
Hear about the latest developments in utilizing the cheaper Methanol fuel for automobiles in coal-rich china, where coal-to-methanol is an already well established production route, from Chery Automobile, one of China’s largest automobile producers. Zhang Zhifu, Methanol Project Manager at Chery Automobile, will share is company’s experience in developing a methanol vehicle in China, and touch on the market response to Methanol fuel in China’s domestic fuel consumption market at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech.
Power Generation- Power from Methanol- A REAL Alternative
Daryl Jones- Director, MAN FERROSTAAL
Major turbine manufacturers and electric utility companies around the world have investigated and approved the use of methanol for power generation. Electric power generators require only minor modifications to their existing combined cycle combustion turbine facilities to accommodate this environmentally friendly fuel which is sulfur-free and clean.
At 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, hear from Daryl Jones, Director of MAN Ferrostaal, as he touches on the advantage of power generation from methanol. In his speech, Mr. Jones will touch on the challenges to commercial methanol-to-power projects, and share his views on potential markets for methanol to power. He will also provide an update on MAN Ferrostaal’s ongoing demonstration trial units.
Participating at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech guarantees 8 hours of NETWORKING
with CEOs, MDs and Top Executives
in the regional & Global Methanol sector!
Attending 4th Methanol Markets & Tech will mean that you will have the opportunity to meet in ONE SINGLE LOCATION all the movers & shakers of the Methanol sector and Petrochemical industry. You will network with Presidents, CEOs, MDs , SVP, VPs, Commercial Directors/Advisors, General Managers, Operations/Technical Sales Executives and Purchasing/Procurement Executives from companies in the following key sectors including:
• Oil and Gas
• Coal
• Biomass
• Petrochemicals
• Methanol
• Derivatives/Downstream - Formaldehyde, Acetic Acid, DME,
•MTBE, Biodiesel, Automotives and Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC)
• Technology/Catalysts/Additives
…. Plus many more
Register for 4th Methanol Markets & Tech with your team and invest in your company’s future in the Methanol Sector!
Credit crunch and tight financial markets have threatened to put on hold many petrochemical projects. How many of the planned capacities will come on stream is now a speculative zone.
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03 Feb, 2009
Methanex’s Chief Executive Bruce Aitken said that the global economic slowdown has cut methanol prices lately, and that has forced producers to trim output.
Prices in the fourth quarter will be lower than the third quarter, and cautioned that it is difficult to make detailed short-term predictions due to the uncertainty of the success of efforts to stabilise global credit markets.
Prices in China have dropped significantly, but the company said it suspects that this is related to traders having to liquidate inventory as letters of credit came due. Methanex has already seen a number of producers shutting down for economic reasons.
During this deprived times, Methanex remained poised as they reported a net profit in Q3 of $70.9 million and the credit crunch has not set back construction on a new facility in Egypt, and the project is still on schedule for completion in 2010.
Source: www.reuters.com23/10/2008, Location: Vancouver, Canada
For more information of Methanex in Egypt, join Mr. Michael Macdonald, Vice President Planning & Strategic Development of Methanex Corporation - HQ, as he presents his paper on;
Establishing a Methanol Industry in Egypt
· Status of EMethanex Project
· Growing a Methanol Industry in Egypt
· Realizing New Methanol Demand Opportunities
10 Dec, 2008
Credit turmoil in the
On 17-18 February 2009 industry experts will convene in Doha at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech discuss and share insights on the methanol markets dynamics, new applications for methanol and deployment strategiesThis annual event aims to provide delegates the opportunity to network with their industry counterpart hailing from Nexant, Tasnee Petrochemicals,
Mr. Graham Hoar, Manager of Gas-Based Chemicals from Nexant will open the conference with a focus presentation on the European and Asian methanol demand trends and outlook. As for now, the two continents’ demand for methanol will likely to be met by
In the North East, Japan’s Mitsui Chemicals’ plan to invest $13.6 million on a world’s first project to convert carbon dioxide into methanol for petrochemical production and reduction of CO2 emissions will produce about 100 tonnes of methanol a year, hence affecting the traditional feedstock supply of coal and natural gas. Meanwhile,
The bright spark for methanol it seems could be from fuel cells. Regarded as the future option for small handhelds, a global distribution network for methanol is needed to feed these cells. More on where and how else methanol can be applied will be revealed at 4th Methanol Markets & Tech in line with its 2009 theme - “New Usage, New Markets!”. In addition to this, there will also be in-depth discussions on:
Methanol industry players on the lookout for new project announcements and fresh ways to utilize methanol, should attend this two-day conference, where they can also network with their potential business partners. For more details and to register for 4th Methanol Markets & Tech, visit http://www.cmtevents.com/eventschedule.aspx?ev=090202&
14 Nov, 2008
4th Methanol Markets and Tech will conduct a reality check on the feasibility of new projects, capacity expansions and operational experiences of the Methanol markets.
23 Feb, 2015