ZURICH, Aug. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Consolidated Energy Limited ("CEL"), OCI N.V. (Euronext: OCI), and Natgasoline LLC have today announced that their 5,000-metric ton per day, or 1.8 million metric tons per annum, methanol plant in Beaumont, Texas, passed the critical licensor performance tests in early August, has been running consistently above nameplate capacity in recent weeks, and has now achieved the milestone of Provisional Acceptance.
The world class facility, which was mechanically completed in April and started production at the end of June, is the United States' largest methanol production facility. It is the only new capacity expected to come online in the Americas in 2018.
CEL, a global leader in methanol, is a subsidiary of Proman Holding AG ("Proman") and Helm AG ("Helm"). David Cassidy, Chief Executive of Proman and Chairman of CEL and Natgasoline said, "The successful completion of these critical performance tests and provisional acceptance mark an important operational milestone for the Natgasoline Plant. I congratulate the entire Natgasoline team on delivering a safe and smooth plant start up. This is a significant turning point, and our priority now is to ensure stable production to allow us to meet our customers' demand for methanol."
"The speed with which the facility reached full utilization shortly after initial start-up is impressive and I would like to thank all those involved for their invaluable contribution," said Nassef Sawiris, Chief Executive Officer of OCI N.V. "The successful ramp-up of production at Natgasoline marks the culmination of OCI's greenfield capacity expansion in the United States, thus providing an enhanced platform to serve our customers better."
CEL and OCI will lead the effort in marketing and distribution of Natgasoline's product, supporting sales through their respective distribution networks.
Notes to Editors:
About the Proman Group
Proman is an integrated industrial group and global leader in natural gas derived products and services. Headquartered in Switzerland, with assets in the United States, Trinidad and Oman, and ongoing expansion into Mexico, Proman is the world's second largest methanol producer and one of the ten leading fertilizer companies via, in part, its controlling stake in CEL. Proman is also a significant services business, with extensive experience in petrochemical plant operations, petrochemical and power plant construction, product marketing and logistics, and project management. The Group offers a fully integrated, diversified platform across the whole value chain from the production and conversion of natural gas to the marketing and delivery of end products to its customers.
About CEL
CEL is the second largest producer of methanol in the world, through its 100% subsidiary MHTL, and is a leading producer of UAN and melamine. CEL owns and operates five methanol plants near MHTL's headquarters in the Point Lisas Industrial Estate in Trinidad, with a total capacity of 4.1m tonnes per annum, it also operates a natural-gas-to-methanol plant located in Pampa, Texas, and owns 50% of the Natgasoline methanol plant in Beaumont Texas. In addition, CEL owns three strategic, minority stakes via Oman Methanol Company LLC ("OMC"), a world scale methanol plant in Sohar, Oman, Nitrogen (2000) Unlimited ("N2000"), an ammonia plant and storage facility in Trinidad and Caribbean Nitrogen Company Limited ("CNC"), an ammonia plant and storage facility in Trinidad. CEL supplies methanol, UAN and melamine to approximately 200 end-customers, which included Fortune 500 companies and in 2017, were the largest importer of methanol by volume into the United States.
About OCI N.V.
OCI N.V. is a global producer and distributor of nitrogen fertilizers, methanol and other natural gas based chemicals, based in the Netherlands. OCI's methanol production capacity comprises OCI Partners LP in Texas, USA, BioMCN in the Netherlands, and 50% of Natgasoline LLC in Texas, USA. With Natgasoline now complete and following the expected start-up in Q4 2018 of BioMCN's second line, which is currently under refurbishment, OCI is on track to become one of the world's largest methanol producers with proportionate production capacity of almost 2.8 mtpa by the end of 2018. OCI is also a leading global nitrogen fertilizer producer with more than 9.6 mtpa of capacity produced in the Netherlands, the United States, Egypt and Algeria. OCI N.V. employs approximately 3,000 people and is listed on Euronext Amsterdam under the symbol "OCI".
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/natgasoline-successfully-ramped-up-to-full-utilization-achieves-provisional-acceptance-300703517.html
SOURCE Consolidated Energy Limited
