In the day that the world’s largest methanol producer announced that it had agreed to a two-month extension of its natural gas contract with the National Gas Company, President and CEO of Methanex, John Floren made it clear that the Canadian giant is prepared to shut down its plant rather than sign a bad deal with the NGC.
If the plant closes, 100 high-paying permanent employees will be sent on the breadline with another 40 contract workers also getting their pink slips.
It will also mean a loss of tens of millions of US dollars for the treasury should it close down.
he heart of the problem is the price that the NGC wants to charge the downstream companies for gas. The petrochemical companies have been saying that the higher prices will mean they operate at a loss position with global prices for both methanol and ammonia weak.
