Methanol Institute to foster Tajikistan markets

The Methanol Institute (MI), the global trade association for the methanol industry and Tajikistan’s State Committee on Investment & State Property Management, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during the first Tajikistan Economic & Investment Forum in Dushanbe.

The conference, attended by more than 600 local and international delegates, aimed to promote investment opportunities in the Central Asian Republic.

Tajikistan is rich in coal, with proven reserves at 4.45 billion metric tons, and huge water resources that could be used to support future methanol production. Methanol is a liquid energy resource and chemical feedstock derived from natural gas, coal, biowaste, and carbon dioxide (CO2) recovery.

With world demand for methanol at more than 70 million metric tons, methanol is used for producing hundreds of downstream chemical products that touch our daily lives, and increasingly as an energy resource for fuel blending in vehicles and even marine fuels.

MI has a close relationship with stakeholders in China, which is the world’s largest methanol consumer and producer, using coal as a feedstock for most of its methanol. China has developed highly advanced technologies for coal-to-methanol (CTM) and coal-to-olefins (CTO) production, and has commercialized methanol transportation fuels for cars, trucks and buses. 

China’s methanol industry could serve as a good model for Tajikistan.

The Methanol Institute’s MOU with Tajikistan aims to help the country develop a methanol industry, and help foster methanol fuel standards and gasoline blend markets, which will help it achieve energy security.

Dom LaVigne, MI’s Director of Government & Public Affairs (Asia Pacific/Middle East), who has led MI’s market development efforts in Tajikistan and who signed the MOU, commented: “Tajikistan’s goal is to develop greater energy security and self-sufficiency, while attracting more FDI (foreign direct investment). Development of a methanol economy would achieve both goals, enabling the country to monetize its rich coal resources and to develop downstream industries that would create more jobs and higher value-added commodities.”

The Methanol Institute serves as the global trade association for one of the world's most vibrant and innovative industries. Founded in 1989, MI serves its members in every corner of the globe from our headquarters in Singapore and regional offices in Washington, DC, Brussels and Beijing. More information is available at www.methanol.org.