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Methanex Reports Second Quarter Results; Egypt and Medicine Hat Plants Driving Higher Production

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—(Marketwire – July 27, 2011) – Methanex Corporation (TSX:MX)(NASDAQ:MEOH)(SANTIAGO:Methanex) – For the second quarter of 2011, Methanex reported Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $103.7 million and net income attributable to Methanex shareholders of $40.5 million ($0.43 per share on a diluted basis). This compares with Adjusted EBITDA(1) of $77.9 million and net income attributable to Methanex shareholders of $34.6 million ($0.37 per share on a diluted basis) for the first quarter of 2011.

Bruce Aitken, President and CEO of Methanex commented, “The Egypt and Medicine Hat plants have run very well since their start-up with the second quarter being our highest quarter of production since 2007. This led to higher earnings in the second quarter and these plants provide further upside for the remainder of 2011 when the full impact of their production will be reflected in our earnings.”

Mr. Aitken added, “The methanol pricing environment has stayed firm supported by healthy global demand and the outlook is excellent with methanol demand growth expected to be strong and limited new capacity added to the industry over the next few years.”

Mr. Aitken concluded, “We have a strong balance sheet with US$246 million of cash on hand and an undrawn credit facility, and we believe we are well positioned to continue to invest to grow the Company. With the recent additions of Egypt and Medicine Hat over the past quarter we are well positioned to increase our earnings and cash flows and continue to deliver on our commitment to return excess cash to shareholders.”

A conference call is scheduled for July 28, 2011 at 12:00 noon ET (9:00 am PT) to review these second quarter results. To access the call, dial the Conferencing operator ten minutes prior to the start of the call at (416) 340-8018, or toll free at (866) 223-7781. A playback version of the conference call will be available for three weeks at (905) 694-9451, or toll free at (800) 408-3053. The passcode for the playback version is 3412372. There will be a simultaneous audio-only webcast of the conference call, which can be accessed from our website at www.methanex.com. The webcast will be available on our website for three weeks following the call.

Methanex is a Vancouver-based, publicly traded company and is the world’s largest supplier of methanol to major international markets. Methanex shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada under the trading symbol “MX”, on the NASDAQ Global Market in the United States under the trading symbol “MEOH”, and on the foreign securities market of the Santiago Stock Exchange in Chile under the trading symbol “Methanex”. Methanex can be visited online at www.methanex.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION WARNING

This Second Quarter 2011 press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to us and the chemical industry. Refer to Forward-Looking Information Warning in the attached Second Quarter 2011 Management’s Discussion and Analysis for more information.

(1) Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure which does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA represents the amount that is attributable to Methanex shareholders and is calculated by deducting the amount of Adjusted EBITDA associated with the 40% non-controlling interest in the methanol facility in Egypt. Refer to Additional Information – Supplemental Non-IFRS Measures for a reconciliation to the most comparable IFRS measure.

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For further information, contact:

Jason Chesko
Director, Investor Relations
Methanex Corporation
604-661-2600

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