MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Methanex to recover full capacity production in 2011

The huge methanol producing complex belonging to Methanex in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile, will only recover full capacity production in three years time, 2011, when a sustained provision of Chilean natural gas is ensured, according to Bruce Aitken, CEO of the Canadian corporation.

Mr Aitken together with Methanex Latinamerica and Chilean managers, Paul Schdiotz and Roger Neumann made a courtesy visit to Punta Arenas authorities last week to explain the reason for the recent cut of 39 workers from the plant's roster forced by the insufficient supply of Argentine natural gas which has limited the Cabo Negro plant capacity to only two out of four production lines. "We have arrived to the conclusion that given current and short term circumstances there are very limited possibilities for a provision of gas from Argentina. Therefore we are focusing on Chilean production and we are convinced that the problem will be definitively solved when there's enough Chilean gas", said CEO Aitken who added he was very enthusiastic about the Chilean government and private efforts in Magallanes and Tierra del Fuego to increase natural gas production. Methanex Latinamerica manager Schiodtz said the recent elimination of 39 jobs was the only one, and very carefully analyzed, by the corporation. "This is the only decision we're going to take in that field. We analyzed it, we planned it and we are confident that in the mid term we'll have enough Chilean gas to turn all production lines on", said Schiodtz. CEO Aitken also said that Methanex has relocated some of its best professionals from Chile in other plants of the company round the world, "until we normalize production in Cabo Negro". Regarding natural gas exploration and production in the extreme south of Chile Aitken revealed that the company involved Geopark has been "very successful: they have already reached a production level of 400.000 cubic meters per day and towards the end of 2008 the volume should be in the range of 750.000 cubic meters". Geopark's target is two million cubic meters per day, which represents 20% of Methanex's demand having the four lines on full production. The rest is to be supplied by Chile's government owned petroleum corporation Enap and new private companies in the region that have begun operating following the recent round of exploration licences in Magallanes Region.