Editor’s note: This story has been updated since original publication to include comment from LED on the status of the South Louisiana Methanol project.
Pending permit approvals and a final investment decision, Houston-based Syngas Energy Holdings announced today it plans to break ground on a $360 million methanol plant in St. James Parish during the second quarter of next year.
The plant, which would be built on 130 acres located about 10 miles south of the Sunshine Bridge that Syngas plans to buy from NuStar Energy, is expected to be completed by the end of 2018 with an initial production capacity of 500,000 metric tons annually.
Louisiana Economic Development estimates the plant would create 86 new direct jobs paying an average annual salary of $78,600, as well as 508 new indirect jobs. Syngas says plant construction would also require more than 800 workers at peak building activity.
Syngas says it plans to begin hiring additional senior management for the project in the first quarter of next year, with broad hiring of operators and other plant functions beginning in the third quarter of 2017.
LED began discussing the potential project with Syngas in June 2013 and says the state is providing the company an incentive package that includes workforce development assistance via the LED FastStart program. The company is also expected to benefit from the state’s Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption programs. The former provides a cash rebate of up to 6% of the company’s payroll on new jobs created for 10 years, while the latter offers a full abatement of local property taxes for a decade on new capital investment.
NuStar Energy, which operates a crude oil terminal and logistics complex on the Mississippi River with a capacity of 11 million barrels, will provide rail and barge transportation services for the Syngas project. NuStar also has storage and shipping capabilities for specialty liquids, such as methanol, at the St. James site. Syngas plans to build additional storage capacity on the site it will purchase from NuStar for truck shipping of its product.
The Syngas project represents a huge investment in St. James Parish should it come to fruition, but it’s not the largest methanol project announced in recent years.
In February 2013, South Louisiana Methanol announced plans for a $1.3 billion methanol plant on the banks of the Mississippi River. When announced, construction was to begin in late 2013, with hiring expected to begin in early 2015 and commercial operations to start in the middle of 2016. LED says South Louisiana Methanol has performed geotechnical work and is completing design work, while securing commercial contracts, but is behind schedule in beginning construction.
In August, China-based Yuhuang Chemical Inc. announced it had finalized a land deal to buy 1,300 acres in St. James Parish for the construction of a $1.85 billion methanol plant. The first phase of the plant is expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2018.
LED has more details on today’s announcement.
—Steve Sanoski
