PDVSA, ENI PLAN VENEZUELA METHANOL PLANT

March 18, 1991
Units of Venezuela's state owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA and Italy's Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi have agreed to build a $300 million joint venture methanol plant in Venezuela. The two also are studying other possible joint ventures in refining and heavy oil upgrading. ENI and Pdvsa signed letters of intent for feasibility studies of joint refining ventures in Italy and elsewhere in Europe and for installing a heavy crude upgrading plant in Venezuela. Pdvsa and Veba Oel last month

Units of Venezuela's state owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA and Italy's Ente Nazionale Idrocarburi have agreed to build a $300 million joint venture methanol plant in Venezuela.

The two also are studying other possible joint ventures in refining and heavy oil upgrading. ENI and Pdvsa signed letters of intent for feasibility studies of joint refining ventures in Italy and elsewhere in Europe and for installing a heavy crude upgrading plant in Venezuela.

Pdvsa and Veba Oel last month disclosed plans for a heavy oil upgrader in Venezuela (OGJ, Feb. 25, p. 21).

METHANOL PROJECT

Pdvsa's Pequiven and ENI's Ecofuel last week agreed to set up a joint venture company to build and operate a 670,000 metric ton/year methanol plant in eastern Venezuela.

Meantime, Pequiven and Ecofuel last week started up their $297 million joint venture 500,000 ton/year methyl tertiary butyl ether plant in Venezuela. All output from the MTBE plant operated by joint venture company Super Octanas CA will be exported either directly or blended with gasoline from Venezuelan refineries. The first shipment of 14,400 metric tons was to leave for the U.S. East Coast last week.

The methanol plant is to be built near the MTBE plant. Of its production, 40% will be exported with the remainder sold to the MTBE plant and Venezuelan refineries.

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