Proman, NGC Agree New Methanol Partnership
Port of Spain, Trinidad, 18 February 2022 -The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) and Proman have today entered a new partnership to lift methanol from the Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Limited (MHTL) Complex in Point Lisas Industrial Estate for NGC’s methanol trading portfolio.
The arrangement, which applies from January 1st 2022, provides NGC with access to methanol produced at MHTL’s plants in Point Lisas Industrial Estate that will be used to bolster the Company’s commodity and trading portfolio as well as expand its reach into international methanol markets.
This innovative new partnership also signifies a deepening of a significant milestone in its growth strategy as NGC projects that the first of its MHTL methanol cargoes will be traded as early as March 2022. This initiative also provides prospects for NGC with regard to broadening the scope of its Green Agenda as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint in the energy trading business. Proman will take delivery of four of its six methanol fuelled newbuild vessels this year, and Proman and NGC are exploring the possibility of using these low emission ships to transport the methanol cargoes. The use of methanol-fuelled vessels translates to an immediate reduction in harmful greenhouse gas emissions and the near-total elimination of airborne pollutants including particulate matter and sulphur oxides. Methanol is a cleaner alternative to the traditional heavy fuel oil on both land and sea, being up to 240 times less toxic to marine life in the event of a spill.
NGC’s President Mark Loquan noted that, “This new business collaboration between NGC and MHTL serves to strengthen the relationship between both parties by maximising the value to be derived from Trinidad and Tobago’s petrochemical capacity. It also demonstrates NGC’s commitment to look beyond our current business model and apply innovative thinking to create new opportunities for growing and diversifying our income streams. NGC will continue to evaluate similar value-adding activities in sustainable energy-related business, as we build our global brand of an integrated energy player, with a focus on marrying both our current business and future green business.”
Claus Cronberger, Managing Director Proman Trinidad, welcomed the agreement, saying, “Trinidad and Tobago is a global leader in petrochemical exports not only because of our world-scale production capacity in Point Lisas, but also the decades of experience our country has developed in producing, marketing and shipping these products. We look forward to strengthening our collaboration with the NGC through this new partnership which utilises the full breadth of Proman’s integrated petrochemical value chain. We also welcome NGC’s deepening investment in its methanol business, at a time when the growing demand for cleaner marine fuels is expected to drive major expansion in the global methanol market over the coming decade. This is an exciting time for Trinidad and Tobago and for the methanol industry, and we look forward to working closely with NGC to capitalise on these emerging opportunities.”
