Exorbitant Feedstock Prices Pushing Methanol Firms to the Brink

Selling natural gas as feedstock to methanol companies at unreasonably high prices ($1.7 per cubic meter) has minimized their profit margin and pushed them to the brink of bankruptcy, the head of Bushehr Petrochemical Company in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone said.
“The Persian Gulf FOB price for each ton of methanol is $240 and at current feedstock tariffs, the cost of production outweighs sale prices due to which we are losing our market share,” Pirouz Mousavi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Giving a breakdown on production cost for each ton of methanol, he said feedstock prices account for a massive 65% ($150) of the total expenditure.
“The rest of the cost pertains to oxygen ($30), steam ($10), power ($60) and maintenance ($50),” he added.