Methanex opens second methanol plant relocated from Chile to Louisiana

Methanex has successfully produced the first methanol from its newly-completed 1-MMtpy Geismar 2 methanol plant in Geismar, Louisiana, the company confirmed this week.

The plant was relocated from Methanex's production site in Punta Arenas, Chile.

"We are extremely pleased to announce that our Geismar 2 plant is producing methanol roughly three months ahead of our original schedule," said John Floren, president and CEO of Methanex. "We expect the plant to ramp up to full production rates over the coming weeks."

With the start-up of Geismar 2, Methanex says it has successfully grown its operating capacity by approximately 3 MMtpy over the last three years. The total combined cost for the completion of the two Geismar plants was approximately $1.4 billion. 

"We believe this represents a substantial cost savings relative to a new-build plant, and we expect the Geismar 2 plant will create significant cash-flow and value for shareholders," Floren said.

"Our team has done an excellent job of managing the complex and multidimensional undertaking of relocating two plants from Chile to Louisiana," the CEO added. "The project was completed ahead of schedule with excellent safety and environmental performance. A sincere thanks to all of the team members throughout the organization who have worked so hard to achieve this important milestone."