The hottest methanol to olefin capacity expansion

Methanol to olefin capacity expansion looms overcast cloud

due to serious overcapacity and market downturn, the methanol industry is looking for a new way out, one of which is considered to be the most promising way out. Under the background of low price of methanol and insufficient demand for olefins, methanol to olefin projects have been launched all over the country. Analysts believe that due to the lack of necessary preliminary research and market analysis, the methanol to olefin industry has emerged the overcast cloud of overcapacity

the planned production capacity exceeds 20million tons

according to statistics, by the end of 2009, the total planned production capacity of coal to olefins across the country has exceeded 20million tons. The output of methanol to olefins put into operation or planned to be put into operation in August this year alone has reached about 4.4 million tons

on August 2, Donghua technology and Yuanxing energy signed an engineering design contract for a 1million ton/year methanol to olefin project in Ordos, Inner Mongolia; On August 10, Sinopec and Hebi municipal government of Henan Province signed an agreement on the cooperation of Hebi Coal chemical integration project. Sinopec will build a 1.8 million ton/year methanol to olefin project locally; On August 25, total, one of the world's four major petrochemical companies, said it planned to invest in the world's first coal to olefin integration project in Inner Mongolia, China, with an annual production capacity of about 1million tons; On August 27, the 600000 ton/year methanol to olefin project of Zhejiang Xingxing New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. was officially settled in Jiaxing Port Area. Before that, the first phase of the 1.8 million ton/year coal to methanol project of Yanzhou Coal Erdos energy and Chemical Co., Ltd. was started in Inner Mongolia in March, and the company will also speed up the preparatory work for the methanol to 1million ton olefin project; In May, Shanxi Lanhua coal industry group signed a cooperation agreement with Sinopec Nanjing Chemical Company to cooperate in the construction of an annual output of 1.8 million tons of methanol and 600000 tons of olefins project in Jincheng, Shanxi

in addition, by the end of 2010, China will also form Shenhua Baotou coal to 300000 tons of polyethylene and 300000 tons of polypropylene project, Datang Duolun coal to 460000 tons/year of polypropylene project, Shenhua Ningmei group coal to 520000 tons/year of polypropylene project, a total of 1.58 million tons of coal to polyolefin capacity, of which 300000 tons of polyethylene and 1.28 million tons of polypropylene

overcapacity looms

the olefin production fever set off by coal chemical enterprises across the country, just like the methanol fever in those years, enterprises and local governments saw the possibility of profitability and blindly planned projects without in-depth research. Industry insiders worry that when the project is completed a few years later, there will be new changes in the market, and methanol to olefins may repeat the mistakes of overcapacity in the methanol industry

the capacity expansion of methanol to olefins is not commensurate with the demand. Yu Jiao, deputy director of the Marketing Research Institute of Sinopec economic and Technological Research Institute, said that the increase in polyolefin demand in 2010 will be significantly lower than that in 2009. According to other data, it is estimated that the new polyethylene production capacity put into operation from 2010 to 2012 will reach 4.55 million tons

it is predicted that there is only a polyolefin gap of 5million tons/year in China from 2012 to 2016. Ti0.006 considering the impact of imported olefin products on the domestic market, especially the occupation of the domestic market by the industry under the pressure of rising raw material and energy costs of Sinopec Middle East, which has abundant resources, huge production capacity and low-cost products in 2010, the production of methanol to olefins has promoted the new material industry to achieve new breakthroughs, and the excess energy has been vaguely visible

contrary to expectations, the expansion of methanol to olefin production capacity did not give methanol more downstream space, and the surplus of methanol remained. Relevant analysts said that in the many methanol to olefin projects put into operation in recent years, taking into account resources, costs and other factors, the proposal of "purchasing methanol" was not widely adopted, but replaced by the coal to olefin integration project. This means that this part of methanol consumed is produced by the project itself, which does not bring any benefits to the methanol industry

in addition, although some units have been successfully commissioned, the stability, product quality, market response and other core issues of the units are still in doubt and need to be tested by time. This has become another pressure besides the overcapacity of methanol to olefins

note: the reprinted content is indicated with the source. The reprint is for the purpose of transmitting more information, and does not mean to agree with its views or confirm the authenticity of its content