Future global methanol market will usher in new opportunities

According to reports, John Floren, senior vice president of Canada's Methanex company, and Ben Iosefa, director of the company's energy applications department, said that energy demand will continue to be the main driver of global methanol demand growth. Compared with oil, methanol will continue to grow in energy applications. Increase its competitiveness.

The use of methanol in gasoline blending and dimethyl ether DME by 2013 is expected to increase at a rate of approximately 20%/year or more. Among them, the demand for dimethyl ether as a substitute fuel for diesel is expected to increase from 2.6 million tons/year in 2008 to 2800 tons/year in 2020. On the other hand, new dimethyl ether capabilities will continue to increase globally. If Uzbekistan plans to build a production capacity of 100,000 tons per year in 2013, Indonesia will start production of 800,000 tons/year of new capacity this year. Other projects include plans for 200,000 tons/year in Egypt and 265,000 tons/year in India.

In China, as of March 2010, the dimethyl ether production capacity was 670 tons/year, and another 600,000 tons/year project was under construction. In addition, 20 million tons/year of production capacity planning was completed by 2020. According to analysis by Methanex, China is currently promoting the commercialization of methanol fuel, while other countries are now progressing rapidly. In some of Europe and China is carrying out methanol demonstration projects, in addition to several Asian countries are also beginning to apply tests. If Iran will try to use the M15 fuel 15% methanol/gasoline blend, Israel also showed similar interest. PETRONAS Malaysia is working on a methanol demonstration project. In September last year, Trinidad and Tobago also promised to start a fuel blending program.