MARUBENI CORP PLANS to produce methanol, in co-operation with the government of Ghana, from natural gas released during oil drilling.
p>MARUBENI CORP PLANS to produce methanol, in co-operation with the government of Ghana, from natural gas released during oil drilling.
The goal is to make 850,000 tonnes a year of the chemical precursor, or about two per cent of global demand, starting around 2015. The trading company and the Ghanaian government have agreed to begin a joint feasibility study for a methanol plant, which is to be located in the southwestern part of Ghana and is expected to produce methanol both for local use and for export. The project is expected to cost about US$600mn. The details have yet to be worked out, but the coming talks appear likely to centre on a plan for a joint venture between Marubeni and a state-affiliated company.
Separately, production is set to begin at the Jubilee offshore oil field as early as next month. It is the first major oil field to be tapped in Ghana and is thought to contain 600mn barrels to 1.5bn barrels of crude. The methanol venture will procure natural gas from this and other sources.
Demand for methanol is expected to grow worldwide, and Africa is attracting attention as a promising location for production. Japanese firms have yet to get involved at that stage, but Marubeni might very well be the first.
Other trading houses are making plays in resource-rich Africa. Sumitomo Corp. (SSUMY) is advancing a nickel-mining project in Madagascar worth US$3.7bn.
