Small-scale methanol technologies offer flexibility, cost effectiveness

U. Turaga, ADI Analytics LLC, Houston, Texas Gas monetization through the production of methanol using small-scale plants could be a promising option. In principle, small-scale methanol plants offer a number of advantages. The first advantage is that methanol prices track those of oil (Fig. 2), thereby providing a significant arbitrage to exploit if the gas feedstock is available as cheaply as it is in the US. Fig. 2. North American methanol and oil prices move together, and natural gas has become significantly cheaper. Source: US EIA and Methanex Corp. Second, small-scale methanol plants have lower capital costs in comparison to traditional large plants, making them