Methanol plant completes trial run

The methanol plant owned by China BlueChemical and Kingboard Chemical Holdings has completed a trial run and will be capable of producing 600,000 tons of methanol per year, reported Dow Jones Newswires. The joint venture, 60% of which is owned by BlueChemical and 40% by Kingboard, will supply 400,000 tons of methanol a year to Kingboard, and about 90,000 tons to China Petroleum and Chemical Corp. (CNPC), the country’s largest oil refiner and petrochemical producer. The plant cost RMB1.5 billion (US$189.85 million) to build and is located in Southern China’s Hainan Island. (September 19, 2006)