China’s Guangxi Huayi eyes 2Q start-up of methanol unit

Guangxi Huayi Energy Chemical, a subsidiary of Chinese private-sector petrochemical firm Shanghai Huayi, plans to start up its new 1.8mn t/yr coal-fed methanol plant in May-June this year.

The plant is located at Qinzhou port in the south of Guangxi province facing the Beibu Gulf. It will be the largest methanol plant along China's coastal regions.

Guangxi Huayi will need to source an estimated 2.7mn-3mn t/yr of coal, mainly from the domestic market, to feed the plant.

The company has built two downstream acetic acid (AA) plants to consume its methanol production. The first 500,000 t/yr AA unit will be operational around the same time as the methanol plant start-up in May-June, while the second unit with 700,000 t/yr capacity will be on line at the end of the year.

The new mega methanol plant will be able to offer about 120,000-130,000 t/month of merchant methanol supplies in the second half of 2021 and 90,000-100,000 t/month after the start-up of the second AA plant.

Guangxi Huayi is prioritising its target markets in the south China region, including the provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian. South China is net short of methanol and relies on imports of around 150,000-170,000 t/month.

Its location on China's southernmost coast means the firm is also looking to export to countries that are part of the Asean-China free-trade agreement, mainly Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore.