Egyptian Methanex Methanol Company S.A.E. (EMethanex) is the Egyptian joint venture operation of Methanex Corporation, the global leader in methanol industry supply, distribution and marketing. Methanex holds a 60% interest in the EMethanex joint venture, together with Egyptian government partners: Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company (ECHEM), which holds 12%; Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), which holds 12%; Egyptian National Gas Company (GASCO), which holds 9%; and the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), which holds 7%.

EMethanex is currently developing a 1.3 million tonne per year methanol facility at Damietta on the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt that, once operational, will be among the most competitive methanol plants in the world. Commercial operations from the facility are set to begin in 2010. This first-class production hub, which will supply primarily European methanol markets, will integrate seamlessly into Methanex’s global methanol supply chain. The EMethanex facility has the potential for future expansion and increased capacity to meet increased methanol demand.

Joint venture partners the Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company (ECHEM) and Methanex are exploring the development of a new project in Egypt for production of dimethyl ether (DME) from methanol. The DME production facility is expected to be located in Alexandria and have a production capacity of approximately 200,000 tonnes of DME per year, which would consume approximately 300,000 tonnes of methanol per year. The goal of the project will be to produce DME to be blended with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to produce a substitute fuel that can be used for domestic cooking purposes as a partial replacement to LPG. This project will reduce Egyptian reliance on imported LPG. The final investment decision for this project has yet to be determined.

EMethanex Plant Photos June 2010

	Cooling Tower (244KB)		Methanol Product Tanks (264KB)
	Process Area - view from east (246KB)		Marine Area (185KB)
	Process Area - southwest view (230KB)		Buildings Area (158KB)
	Flare (172KB)

EMethanex Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Hussein Khattab For more information about Methanex in Egypt, please contact: Riham Reda Public Affairs Manager publicaffairsegypt@methanex.com 17, Port Said Street Maadi El-Sarayat Cairo 11431, Egypt T: +202 23594511 F: +202 23590061 EMethanex Damietta 1 Project Damietta Port Authority Private Free Zone Area New Damietta T: +205 7292106 F: +205 7292107

This page was last updated on July 28, 2010.