Nauticol’s methanol project gets royalty credits from Canadian province

The Government of Alberta has pledged support for the $1.51 billion methanol plant proposed by Nauticol Energy in the Canadian province.

The methanol plant, which will be built 10 km south of Grande Prairie, will be supported by the provincial government with up to $60.61 million in the form of future royalty credits for phase one of the project.

The project will be progressively developed to include three similar methanol units. Each methanol unit can produce a million metric tons of methanol annually.

The first phase of the methanol plant is expected to break ground next year and will begin commercial operations in 2022.

The methanol production facility will consume nearly nine million cubic meters of natural gas per day when it is fully operational.

Liquid methanol from the facility will be transported to North American markets via rail and port facilities on the West Coast of British Columbia. The majority volume will be exported to China, the largest single market where methanol has the advantage of being a cleaner alternative energy feedstock for the production of a variety of industrial and consumer products. Methanol demand is expected to increase significantly as China and other Asian economies try to reduce their use of coal to improve air quality.

Nauticol Energy president and CEO Mark Tonner said: “Our Made-in-Alberta for Albertans project will be Canada’s largest methanol facility. This world-scale project will expand Alberta’s petrochemical value chain by transforming the region’s abundant natural gas resources into a highly valued product that will reach growing global methanol markets.”

About Nauticol: Nauticol Energy Ltd. is a petrochemical company based in Alberta that produces natural gas products with added value. The company proposed developments at two locations in Canada: Grande Prairie, Alberta and Bécancour, Quebec.