Domestic methanol industry urgently seeks opportunities in crisis

Market prices plunge sharply, technology levels vary

Affected by the global spread of the epidemic and energy wars and financial wars, domestic methanol prices have plunged recently. Compared with the beginning of the year, the price of methanol in East China and North China fell by 550 yuan (ton price, the same below) at the end of March, and the price in the northwest market dropped by more than 300 yuan. The prices of all regions hovered below the cost line. In the recent analysis meeting of the Chinese methanol market under the new situation, the experts at the meeting suggested that different types of methanol plants should be classified and implemented. While eliminating backward production capacity, a group of enterprises should be transformed with the new system technology of energy common rail to make Both methanol cost and energy consumption have been reduced.

According to Zhang Erhong, general manager of Methanol Times Alliance (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd., the current domestic methanol cost and price inversion phenomenon is serious. Taking Inner Mongolia as an example, the methanol production cost of large local enterprises is 1400-1500 yuan, the transportation cost to Shandong Lunan is more than 240 yuan, and the comprehensive cost exceeds 1700 yuan. The Methanol price in Lunan market is only 1,570 yuan, with a loss of at least 130 yuan per ton of methanol. Based on a company's daily output of 2,000 tons of methanol, it will lose 260,000 yuan a day.

Zhang Erhong analyzed that there are three main reasons for the inversion of methanol cost and price. One is the uncoordinated resumption of work between upstream and downstream, resulting in an imbalance between supply and demand. The downstream enterprises of methanol, such as FORMALDEHYDE, dimethyl ether, and methanol fuel, are mostly small enterprises, which are slow to resume due to capital and labor constraints. In addition, the domestic epidemic prevention and control has not been completely lifted. Most hotels, hotels, and restaurants on the demand side are still in the control stage, which has affected the demand for formaldehyde, methanol-based fuel, and dimethyl ether. Second, the decline in international oil prices has contributed to the sharp decline in olefin and refined oil prices. At present, methanol consumed by methanol to olefins accounts for about 1/3 of the total methanol demand, so the price of olefins has a greater impact on methanol. At the same time, the reduction in gasoline prices and the reduction in demand have also affected the demand for Mtbe and methanol alcohol-based fuels. The third is the high methanol inventory. According to statistics, the current inventory of methanol in coastal ports is about 1.1 million tons, of which the inventory of Jiangsu ports is 600,000 tons.

The experts at the meeting also said that the current uneven technological level of domestic methanol plants also affected the healthy development of the industry.

According to statistics, compared with 2009, the scale of China's methanol plant has increased from 27.22 million tons / year to 88.38 million tons / year, and the maximum capacity of a single unit of coal to methanol has also increased from 600,000 tons / year to 1.8 million tons / year. However, the level of methanol equipment is still uneven. The existing methanol production processes of natural gas, coke oven gas, coal and other raw material sources account for 11.3%, 15.9% and 72.8% of the production capacity in 2019, respectively.

Experts said that from the current situation, most of the 26 natural gas-to-methanol production units used equipment from the 1990s abroad, which has high energy consumption and does not meet the national conditions of low gas in China. It is recommended to eliminate a batch of devices with smaller production capacity; coke ovens The gas method is in line with current energy-saving and emission-reduction policies, but from the overall and long-term perspective, coke production is more polluting, and it is recommended to eliminate a batch of devices; the coal-to-methanol process is more complex and diverse, and the levels are uneven. Coal-to-methanol plants of less than 200,000 tons / year will be eliminated.

"Methanol can replace part of the imported oil and enhance China's energy security. Therefore, while eliminating a batch of backward production capacity, it must also achieve innovative development, use a new system technology of energy common rail to transform a group of enterprises, and realize the dual cost of methanol and energy consumption. At the same time, for the current application of methanol fuel, a large number of enterprises with a large scale and a combination of production, education and research should be strengthened to improve the efficiency and intelligence of methanol application equipment, clean and green, and use efficient and intelligent methanol boilers, heating furnaces and Hot blast stoves and other alternatives to direct coal-fired boilers to reduce air pollution. "Zhang Erhong emphasized.