A renaissance is taking place in Louisiana’s chemical industry, and a perfect example of this is Methanex Corp.’s decision to relocate a 1 million metric ton methanol production plant from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Geismar, La. Since Methanex’s announcement of the plant’s move, the company has taken several steps to establish itself in the Pelican State and Methanex Geismar Plant Manager Glynn Fontenot said he can’t even explain how truly excited the company is to be in Louisiana.
“We’ve been very pleased with how cooperative and business friendly Louisiana has been from the governor’s office to working with entities like Louisiana Economic Development, Louisiana Workforce Commission and Ascension Parish,” Fontenot said. “We’ve also been very pleased with the capabilities of the work force in Louisiana and its entire infrastructure.”
Fontenot is a graduate of Louisiana State University and has more than 29 years of experience in the petrochemical manufacturing industry. Prior to joining Methanex, Fontenot worked for Georgia Gulf (now known as Axiall). The Methanex Geismar plant is expected to be completed by the end of 2014 and Fontenot explained how unique this project is to the industry.
“In the past 30 years, there have been very few what I call ‘grass-roots projects’ in the Baton Rouge area,” he said. “This is a grass-roots project because we’re going to be relocating an entire plant, essentially one large piece at a time, by way of the Atlantic Ocean.”
From Chile to Louisiana
According to Fontenot, the methanol business was a thriving industry in the United States up until the late 1990s when natural gas prices escalated and the methanol industry moved to more attractive and foreign locations. But due to the recent natural gas availability and pricing from the major shale plays in Louisiana and other parts of the United States, it has reversed the competitiveness for natural gas supply back to a domestic market.
“More than 20 years ago, a major complex was built in Chile by Methanex containing four methanol plants,” Fontenot said. “They were all large world-scale plants with approximately 400 employees at their peak. Now only one of the four plants is operating at low rates, which is because of the limited natural gas that can be provided to the plant.”
After a thorough evaluation of multiple locations throughout not only the United States but internationally, Methanex made the decision to move one of those four plants from Chile to Geismar.
“This plant is a big win for Ascension Parish and Louisiana,” Fontenot said. “It is going to peak at roughly 1,500 construction jobs, be located on a 225-acre site and have approximately 133 permanent jobs once the plant is up and running. The plant will begin making methanol by the end of 2014 and is expected to produce 1 million metric tons of methanol annually.”
The Geismar site would primarily serve U.S. markets. Methanol can be found in everything from recyclable plastic bottles to plywood floors, paint, silicone sealants and synthetic fibers. Approximately one-third of global methanol demand comes from transportation fuels and energy uses.
Methanex, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is the world’s largest supplier of methanol to major international markets. The company has approximately 1,000 employees across the globe and currently operates in five locations — Chile, Egypt, New Zealand, Canada and Trinidad. Methanex is also a Responsible Care® company. Responsible Care and Methanex’s commitment to sustainability mean working for the improvement of people’s lives, the environment and accountability to the community through the development, manufacture, storage, transportation, distribution and disposal of its chemical products.
A three-phase project
The methanol production plant will undergo three phases before it is able to start producing methanol. “First, we have to take the plant apart over in Chile,” Fontenot said. “Then, load it on a boat, travel across the Atlantic Ocean through the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi River. Finally, we will put it back together in Geismar.”
Methanex began dismantling the plant in Chile in June 2012 and it is currently 75 percent complete.
“Essentially all the parts and pieces have been taken out of the plant and they’re being put into enclosed containers, properly supported and loaded onto a ship to be transported,” Fontenot said.
The voyage will consist of approximately 7,500 miles and Methanex will have to make multiple voyages to move all of the pieces from Chile. Each voyage from Chile to Louisiana will take approximately one month and the company is using a specialized ship called the Dockwise Vanguard. The Dockwise Vanguard will travel around the east side of South America, through the Atlantic Ocean, into the Gulf of Mexico and then up the mouth of the Mississippi River (traveling under five bridges) to a dock Methanex is putting in place at Geismar.
“There are only a few ships in the world that can make these types of hauls,” Fontenot said. “This kind of ship is typically used for offshore oil and gas rigs where you build the rig onshore, put it on the ship and unload it out at sea.
“One unique thing about this ship is when it approaches a dock, it sinks itself to water level to receive equipment. Then, it buoys itself up and travels across the ocean. Once it arrives in Geismar, it will sink itself again so we can offload the pieces and equipment.”
Fontenot said the last delivery of plant equipment will take place by the first quarter of 2014. Then, it will take approximately six to seven months to reconstruct the entire plant in Geismar.
Progress in Geismar
Currently, Fontenot’s main responsibility is to build the Methanex organization in Geismar. “We are building the management group with a great group of people,” he said. “We recently brought on Roger Neumann who will be our business integration director. He was the plant manager in Chile and oversaw all of those facilities. He will help us integrate the things we do in Louisiana with the Methanex way of doing things.”
Much of the civil construction has also been conducted on the Methanex Geismar site in preparation for the methanol plant.
“All of the plant’s roads are in place,” Fontenot said. “We’ve started driving piles and we’ll put approximately 3,000 piles into the ground. We have about two-thirds of those done.”
Community responsibility
Methanex has already joined several of the industrial and safety organizations in Louisiana including the Louisiana Chemical Association, Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance, Ascension Community Awareness & Emergency Response, Geismar Area Mutual Aid and the Ascension Chamber of Commerce.
“Being a very responsible member of the community and a strong industry partner is extremely important to Methanex,” Fontenot said. “We will certainly be joining more organizations and establishing a positive presence within the community.”
A second plant
Methanex also recently decided to relocate a second methanol plant to Geismar. This plant is expected to be operational by early 2016, and has an estimated total cost of approximately $550 million. Combined, Methanex will be making a $1.1 billion investment in Ascension Parish, creating 165 new direct jobs and resulting in an estimated 1,203 new indirect jobs. Additionally, con-struction of the two facilities will result in approximately 2,500 construction jobs.
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Methanex Corp.
305 East Highway 30
Gonzales, LA 70737 (225) 819-3252
Employees: The new methanol plant is expected to have 133 permanent jobs once it is completed.
Products: Methanol usage ranges from traditional applications in paints, solvents, plastics, and building materials to clean-burning energy applications, such as biodiesel.
