Egypt’s E-Methanex produced 266,000 tons of methanol in 1Q20, according to Canadian operator Methanex, down 12% from 302,000 tons in 4Q19 because of a planned maintenance outage in February. The 1.26mn t/y capacity E-Methanex plant at Damietta on the Mediterranean was shut down in 2Q19 for repairs following issues in 2H18 with off-spec gas feedstock and mechanical issues related to stop-start operation of the plant during supply interruptions before 2016 (MEES, 17 May 2019).
The plant requires around 110mn cfd of gas feedstock to run at full capacity. Shortages are now a thing of the past with Egypt’s gas output hitting record levels last year. E-Methanex shareholders are Methanex (50%), state petchems firm Echem (12%), state gas producer Egas (12%), state gas grid operator Gasco (9%) and Oapec’s Saudi-based development bank Apicorp (17%). (CONTINUED - 126 WORDS)