India's Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company, or GNFC, which is in talks with Middle East producers for importing methanol on a long-term basis, is seeing slow progress in its negotiations, said a company source Tuesday, declining to give details.
GNFC plans to import about 75,000-100,000 mt/year of methanol to supplement production from its 186,150 mt/year natural gas-based plant in Gujarat. GNFC has three methanol plants in Gujarat -- with total capacity of 345,000 mt/year -- but the other two are shut due to high cost of feedstock natural-gas and poor margins.
The source said there was hope the first shipment would arrive by the fourth quarter -- the original target date for the imports.
GNFC has shut two of its three methanol plants in Gujarat on poor economics, said the source.
It shut its 54,750 mt/year natural gas-based plant end July on high gas prices, while its 32,850 mt/year low sulphur heavy stock oil-based plant has been idled for almost a year.
Its 186,150 mt/year natural gas-based plant is presently operating at full capacity.
