OCI to acquire Netherlands methanol firm BioMCN

OCI has reached agreement to acquire BioMCN, a methanol producer and pioneer in bio-methanol production based in The Netherlands, for €15 million, officials announced on Thursday. 

BioMCN’s glycerin activities are not part of the transaction and will be continued under the name of Dutch Glycerin Refinery.

BioMCN is one of Europe’s largest methanol producers and owns two methanol plants, of which one is operational (production capacity of 440,000 tpy) and one mothballed (430,000 tpy). 

The plant site is located at the Chemical Park Delfzijl, The Netherlands, is connected to the national natural gas grid and has easy logistical access to major European end markets via road, rail, barge and sea freight.

The acquisition creates a foothold for OCI in the European methanol market. Methanol consumption in Western Europe is currently more than 7 million tpy, of which approximately 30% is used in transportation fuel applications. Europe currently imports more than 5 million tons of methanol and this deficit is expected to continue to increase for the foreseeable future.

OCI currently produces methanol in the US at OCI Beaumont in Texas with a production capacity of 913,000 tpy. OCI will add another 1.75 million tpy of capacity at Natgasoline, a new world-scale greenfield methanol plant under construction on a site adjacent to OCI Beaumont.

“This is an important addition to our natural gas-based portfolio of products at a time when natural gas prices are becoming more favorable in Europe," said OCI chief executive Nassef Sawiris. 

"We are firm believers in the methanol industry and its growth prospects," he added. "Methanol is a diverse building block for industrial chemicals and can be used as a transportation fuel. This acquisition gives us a foothold in both the European methanol markets and in the bio-methanol market.”