Brunei Darussalam Methanol Plant Starts Operations

May 25, 2010

ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Masahiro Okafuji, President & CEO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) , Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co., Inc (MGC) and Brunei National Petroleum Company Sdn. Bhd.(PetroleumBRUNEI) have started operation of a methanol plant in Brunei Darussalam, owned by the joint venture company, Brunei Methanol Company (BMC), and having a production capacity of 850,000 tons per year. 

MGC, ITOCHU and PetroleumBRUNEI established BMC in March 2006 and completed of plant construction in December 2009. BMC started produce methanol in April 2010, and the first products was shipped in May 2010.
On May 25th the opening ceremony was held at the site and attended by Brunei's Sultan and executives of shareholders. With the full support by all parties concerned, the operation is running smoothly.
Methanol is one of the basic chemicals that have a variety of derivatives, and is mainly used as a raw material for formaldehyde, acetic acid and so on. It is expected that the use of methanol will expand to, for example, biodiesel and DME (dimethyl-ether) in future. The world’s current demand for methanol is 42 million tons per year, and it has been growing 4~5% per annum. A growing demand is forecasted especially in Asia, where BMC aims at exporting methanol, due to the higher economic growth rate than those of other regions.

BMC is positioned at the center of the Asian market, and due to the favorable conditions on its location, BMC is considered as one of the most competitive methanol production companies.
Through this project, MGC and ITOCHU will enhance their presence as world-class methanol suppliers.

Outline of the joint project

Investment ratio

MGC 50%

PB Petrochemical 25%

ITOCHU 25%

Capacity 2,500ton/day 850,000ton/year 
Natural Gas Supplier  Brunei Shell Petroleum Company Sdn Bhd (BSP)
Emloyee About 190

External view of the Brunei Darussalam Methanol Plant

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