OCI Global to Sell Methanol Business to Methanex

The firm has signed a deal to sell the business to Methanex for $2.05 billion. File Image / Pixabay

Hydrogen products firm OCI Global is set to sell its global methanol business to Methanex Corporation.

The firm has signed a deal to sell the business to Methanex for $2.05 billion, it said in a statement on its website on Monday.

$1.15 billion of the transaction will come in cash, and the remainder in Methanex shares. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.

OCI has been one of the main suppliers of AP Moller-Maersk's new methanol-fuelled container ships.

The firm's methanol business has the following productive assets, according to the statement:

• A methanol facility in Beaumont, Texas with an annual production capacity of 910,000 tonnes of methanol and 340,000 tonnes of ammonia. This plant was restarted in 2011 and since that time the plant has been upgraded with USD 800 million of capital for full site refurbishment and debottlenecking.
• A 50 percent interest in a second methanol facility also in Beaumont, Texas, operated by Natgasoline, which is a joint venture with Proman. The Natgasoline plant was commissioned in 2018 and has an annual capacity of 1.7 million tonnes of methanol, of which Methanex's share will be 850,000 tonnes.
• OCI's HyFuels business, which produces and sells industry-leading volumes of low-carbon methanol and has trading and distribution capabilities for renewable natural gas (RNG).
• A methanol facility in Delfzijl, Netherlands with an annual capacity to produce one million tonnes of methanol. This facility is not currently in production due to unfavorable pricing for natural gas feedstock.

"This is an outstanding strategic fit for Methanex," Ahmed El Hoshy, CEO of OCI, said in the statement.

"I would like to thank my OCI colleagues for their efforts in building such a strong globally competitive methanol platform, ultimately leading to this transaction.

"We look forward to working closely with Methanex's management to fully integrate the business and to ensure continuity and successful stewardship through closing and beyond."