Second shipping line takes stake in proposed methanol plant in Washington

The backers of a proposed methanol plant at the small port of Kalama, Washington have received a $10 million investment commitment from tanker operator Hafnia, the second shipping line to take an equity stake in the complex.

Northwest Innovation Works, which is a venture spearheaded by state-owned Shanghai Bi Ke Clean Energy Technology Co, is planning a $2 billion natural gas-to-methanol petchem plant at Port of Kalama, a town on the Columbia River about 70 river miles inland from the Pacific.

The 3.6 million tonnes per annum plant would use West Coast-sourced gas to produce about one MR tanker’s worth of cargo every four days. After contributing $10 million in equity, Hafnia would carry one-third of the plant’s volume for 19 years on a long-term charter.

Mitsui OSK Lines made a similar investment in June, and it will be carrying the balance of the cargo volume.

If the gas-consuming Kalama facility displaces (rather than augments) the production of future higher-emission, coal-based methanol plants, the project would reduce net carbon emissions on a global basis, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology.

For more information visit hafniabw.com

21st September 2020