Operator lets contract for methanol ...

Nakhodka Mineral Fertilizer Plant CJSC (NZMU) has let a contract to Haldor Topsoe AS to provide technology licensing for a 5,400-tonne/day methanol plant near Vladivostok in eastern Russia.

As part of the contract, Topsoe will provide technology licensing, basic engineering, catalysts, and proprietary hardware for the methanol plant, which will be based on Topsoe’s two-step reforming technology, the service provider said.

China Chengda Engineering Co. Ltd. will provide engineering, procurement, and construction on the project, Topsoe said.

Due for start-up in 2023 with a planned total capacity of as much as 1.8 million tonnes/year of methanol and up to 1.8 million tpy of ammonia, the plant—which will be located near the major Russian seaport Nakhodka in the Primorsky region—aims to export products to destinations in Southeast Asia, according to NZMU’s web site.

NZMU said it entered an agreement in 2015 with Gazprom Group to secure 3.15 billion cu m of natural gas feedstock for the methanol and fertilizer project from Gazprom’s Sakhalin field under a 20-year contract.