Excerpt from Methanex Corporation SEC Filing dated December 31, 2006
We are the world's largest producer and marketer of methanol and the largest supplier of methanol to the major international markets of North America, Asia Pacific and Europe as well as Latin America.
What is Methanol? Methanol is a liquid chemical produced primarily from natural gas and is typically used as a chemical feedstock in the manufacture of other products. Estimated 2006 global methanol demand is approximately 38 million tonnes. Approximately 80% of all methanol is used in the production of derivative chemicals such as formaldehyde, acetic acid and a variety of other chemicals that form the basis of a large number of chemical derivatives. These derivatives are used in the manufacture of a wide range of products including building materials, foams, resins and plastics. The remainder of methanol demand comes from the energy sector. Methanol is used to produce MTBE, a gasoline component and there are developing markets for using methanol in energy applications such as biodiesel, methanol to power generation, di-methyl ether (DME) and fuel blending. Due to the diversity of the end-products in which methanol is used, methanol demand is influenced by a broad range of economic, industrial and environmental factors.
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