UAE’s Ta’ziz signs agreement with Proman for USD 5 bn methanol production facility: State-owned Abu Dhabi Chemicals Derivatives Company (Ta'ziz) and Switzerland-headquartered Proman have signed a shareholders’ agreement to set up the UAE’s first “world-scale” methanol production facility, according to a statement released last week. AED 18 bn (over USD 5 bn) will be invested in the first phase of development, according to the statement. The facility will be built in the Ta’ziz Industrial Chemicals Zone in Abu Dhabi’s Al Ruwais Industrial City and will be Proman’s first investment in the country. The agreement is subject to regulatory approval.

The details: The new facility will have an anticipated annual production capacity of up to 1.8 mn tons, the statement notes. Most of the chemicals manufactured in the plant will be produced in the UAE for the first time, the statement adds. These are presumably chemicals for which methanol is feedstock. Methanol has wide industrial application in areas that include fuels, solvents, pharma, and construction materials, the statement says.

Methanol is being touted as a “clean” fuel…: Compared to other fossil fuels, methanol “significantly reduces emissions of sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter,” according to methanol producer Methanex. Methanol is one of a number of so-called “alternative fuels” that have the potential to reduce emissions from global shipping — alongside biodiesel, hydrogen and ammonia — according to a 2021 Southampton University study.

…but is it really? It all depends on how it’s produced: “The carbon footprint of methanol depends strongly on the feedstock and the production pathway,” notes independent advisory firm Gear Up in a recent study (pdf). Using natural gas to produce methane is less polluting than using coal — and using renewable energy, or carbon capture, is even more climate-friendly. But the impact of methanol on decarbonizing an industry like shipping is really contingent on the source of the feedstock, the production process, and the scalability and cost of these things, according to the write-up of a 2021 webinar by the Global Maritime Forum. It is unclear from the statement what will be used as a feedstock and in the production process for Ta’ziz and Proman’s plant in the UAE.