TODAY.AZ / Business

SOCAR Methanol to increase production by 88 pct

25 October 2019 [10:37] - TODAY.AZ

By Azernews


By Leman Mammadova

Azerbaijan’s methanol plant, located in Garadagh district of Baku, is the only plant of this kind in the South Caucasus and Central Asia regions.

SOCAR Methanol produced over 314,000 tons of methanol in January-September 2019, which is 88.1 percent more compared to 191,400 tons of methanol produced in 2018, Ibrahim Ahmadov, Deputy Head of the Public Relations Department at SOCAR, told local media.

Azerbaijan produces 250-300,000 tons of methanol annually. However, the plant’s annual capacity is 650,000-700,000 tons. Therefore, bringing annual production to 500,000 tons in the near future is one of the strategic goals of the company.

Azerbaijan started methanol production in Garadagh plant in 2014.

The plant was transferred under the control of SOCAR Methanol LLC in November 2016. Since August 2017, the plant became the property of SOCAR. The plant cost was estimated at $520 million.

It is the first production facility in the country in the field of gas chemistry. Natural gas is supplied by Azerigaz Production Association.

Currently, 95 percent of the plant’s products are exported to the countries of the Mediterranean region (Spain, Italy, Slovenia, Greece, Egypt, Israel), Turkey, Georgia, Romania, Belgium, France, Kazakhstan, China, Brazil, etc. Particularly, Turkey, Italy, Romania and Slovenia are Azerbaijan’s biggest partners in the trade in methanol.

A great share of methanol is used in the domestic market to combat hydrate formation. The estimated volume of methanol used in this direction is 15-20,000 tons per year.

Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, is regarded as an alternative fuel. Although various raw materials can be used to produce methanol, the modern economy prefers to get it from natural gas.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/business/187634.html

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