my country’s methanol market is booming in both supply and demand, but the overall production capacity growth rate is higher than the demand growth rate
Methanol is a saturated monohydric alcohol with the simplest structure. It appears as a colorless, toxic liquid with a slight smell of alcohol. Methanol is flammable and volatile. As a basic chemical raw material, methanol has a wide range of applications and can be used to manufacture acetic acid, formaldehyde, dimethyl ether, MTBE, methyl chloride, olefins, dimethyl carbonate and other products. Thanks to the commissioning of new production capacity and improvements in production processes, my country’s methanol production has steadily increased. At this stage, my country has become the world’s largest methanol producer.
Methanol manufacturing processes are diverse, and its raw materials include natural gas, coal, coke oven gas, acetylene tail gas, etc. my country’s coal resources are relatively abundant, and the output of coal-to-methanol is high, accounting for about 70% of the overall methanol production; in overseas markets, natural gas is the most The main raw material of methanol, methanol production from natural gas accounts for about 60%. Globally, methanol production capacity is mainly distributed in East Asia, the Middle East, North America, Southeast Asia and other regions. From a country perspective, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, Iran and other countries have higher methanol production.
In the international market, large-scale methanol production companies include Saudi Ar-Razi, Canadian Methanex, Iranian Zagros Petrochemical Company, Trinidad and Tobago MHT, etc. my country is the world’s largest consumer of methanol. In terms of import and export, my country’s methanol market is in a trade deficit. In 2021, methanol imports exceeded 11.21 million tons. Imported methanol mainly comes from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, New Zealand and other regions.
According to the “2022-2026 China Methanol Industry Market Supply and Demand Status and Development Trend Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center, in recent years , my country’s methanol production capacity is in a rapid growth trend. In 2021, the new or expanded domestic methanol production capacity will be more than 5.8 million tons, and the production capacity will increase by more than 6.4% year-on-year. Thanks to improvements in production capacity, my country’s methanol self-sufficiency rate has also continued to increase, growing to more than 86.8% in 2021. my country’s apparent consumption of methanol is also on a growth trend, but the consumption growth rate is lower than the production capacity growth rate, and the methanol market overcapacity is gradually emerging.
Methanol production companies in my country include Shenhua Baotou, Ningxia Baofeng Energy, Shaanxi Yanchang Zhongmei Yulin Nenghua, Yanzhou Coal Yulin Nenghua, etc. There are many domestic methanol production companies, and the market competition is relatively fierce. In recent years, as the survival of the fittest in the market has accelerated, backward methanol production capacity has been gradually eliminated, and methanol companies have gradually developed towards group, large-scale, and integrated development. By the end of 2021, the methanol production capacity will exceed There are 28 companies with an annual output of 1 million tons.
Industry analysts said that my country is the world’s largest producer and consumer of methanol. In recent years, thanks to the commissioning of new production capacity, With the release of downstream market demand, my country’s methanol market is showing a booming situation of both supply and demand. However, overall, the growth rate of production capacity is higher than the growth rate of demand, and the oversupply phenomenon in the methanol market will intensify in the future. There are many domestic methanol production companies and the market competition is fierce. Under the fierce market competition, the methanol market will continue to gather towards leading companies.