The Methanol Industry

The methanol industry spans the entire globe, with production in Asia, North and South America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Worldwide, over 90 methanol plants have a combined production capacity of about 110 million metric tons (almost 36.

6 billion gallons or 138 billion liters).

According to IHS, global methanol demand reached 75 million metric tons in 2015 (24 billion gallons/91 billion liters), driven in large part emerging energy applications for methanol which now account for 40% of methanol consumption. Each day, nearly 200,000 tons of methanol is used as a chemical feedstock or as a transportation fuel (67 million gallons/254 million liters). That’s enough methanol every day to fill nearly 7,500 tanker trucks stretching end-to-end for 63 miles or 100 kilometers.

But the methanol industry is not just those companies large and small throughout the globe that produce methanol every day from a wide array of feedstocks – including natural gas, coal, biomass, waste and even waste CO2 – the industry is also made up of thousands of distributors, technology innovators, downstream manufacturers and service providers. The global methanol industry generates $55 billion in economic activity each year, while creating over 90,000 jobs around the world.

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