36th Annual World Methanol Conference in Vienna, Austria


Event Details


36th Annual World Methanol Conference

IHS Markit is hosting the 36th Annual World Methanol Conference and Training Workshop in Vienna, Austria on October 5-6, 2018.

Methanol-to-Olefins: Shift in Fortune Amid Low Oil?

Oil prices have been fluctuating at lower levels than in the past, potentially hampering prospects for methanol both into Methanol-to-Olefins (MTO) and into fuels.

MTO has been growing at a staggering rate, with one additional MTO unit slated to start up this year. A maturing MTO market and continuing low oil prices have, however, raised questions about the economic viability of MTO facilities and what the implications are for operating rates and for methanol prices. Meanwhile, the market is bracing itself for two new world-scale methanol plants coming onstream this year – one in the US and the other in Iran. How will this influence trade flows and regional pricing differentials?

Additionally, increasingly strict environmental pollution controls in China and its aim to move toward E10 ethanol blending are producing demand uncertainty in the world’s largest methanol consumer.

How will prospects for methanol pan out in the midst of these complexities?

The 36th Annual World Methanol Conference and Workshop will outline these key issues and discuss where the opportunities are in the midst of change in a full day of content, data analysis and expert insight.

Topics to be discussed include:

  • Profitability of MTO facilities: Where does MTO sit on the global ethylene and propylene cost curves?
  • Impact of China’s environmental controls and its aim to move towards E10 ethanol blending in gasoline
  • Potential opportunities from IMO marine bunker fuel specification changes
  • Review of global and regional methanol markets: Europe, Middle East, Americas and Asia
  • Methanol investment outlook in North America and Iran: An update and outlook for availability of future funding
  • Prospects for the acetyls market
  • Technology developments impacting methanol

Join us and your colleagues in the methanol industry in Vienna, Austria on Oct 6, 2018 for a time of information and insight sharing, as well as networking.

Precede the conference with our training workshop Introduction to Methanol, which features a new module on methanol-to-olefins (MTO) and two parallel sessions, including a technical module on small-scale methanol plants led by bse Engineering, in the afternoon for expanded training and greater focus.

Who should attend?

If you are a producer, trader, distributor, analyst, strategic planner, purchaser, or perform similar functions focusing on methanol and derivatives, you should attend.


View Interview with Mike Nash, IHS Markit

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