Methanol

Plans for twin natural gas-fueled methanol plants to be sited in Washington’s lower Columbia River region were unveiled this week. They could, pending approvals, be exporting production to China by 2018.

Low natural gas prices, thanks to shale plays, prompted the restart late last year of LyondellBasell’s methanol plant in Channelview, TX, the company said Thursday.

Dutch fertilizer giant OCI NV on Thursday said cheap domestic natural gas will fuel the largest-ever U.S. methanol plant, which it proposes to build in Beaumont, TX.

LyondellBasell Industries, a worldwide chemical company based in the Netherlands, said it hopes to join other manufacturers in taking advantage of the abundance of natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) produced from shale formations as it begins construction this month on the first of several projects to expand ethylene capacity in the United States by about 20%.

Researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Energy Initiative (MITEI) say natural gas has a bright future, but they said the government needs to be more involved and industry needs to remain vigilant over potential — but so far unrealized — environmental disasters.

The most widely used chemical in hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) between 2005 and 2009 was methanol, “a hazardous air pollutant…on the candidate list for potential regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act [SDWA],” and dozens of other hydrofracking chemicals are known or possible human carcinogens, according to a report issued April 16 by Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

The most widely used chemical in hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking) between 2005 and 2009 was methanol, “a hazardous air pollutant…on the candidate list for potential regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act [SDWA],” and dozens of other hydrofracking chemicals are known or possible human carcinogens, according to a report issued Saturday by Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.