Consolidated Energy - comment
OCI selling its methanol business to Methanex means ownership of the Natgasoline JV (operated by CEL) is under discussion. The Natgasoline plant cost around $1.9bn to build and has $800m of debt attached, so equity is about $1.1bn. CEL has recently decided not to proceed with a new 1.4mt facility at Big Lake in Louisiana, so it will not want to lose control of Natgasoline (where it is the operator). We expect CEL to prefer to buy out OCI or leave the status quo in place. A buyout of Natgasoline would require further debt issuance from CEL of $600m as Proman is unable to inject cash. Any fresh issuance at the CEL level will need clarity from management on the repayment of the $253m loan made to Proman (maturing in December 2025). A purchase of the OCI assets is expected to close in H125, and Methanex has said a legal process is underway regarding shareholder rights. An imminent decision is unlikely.
https://www.methanex.com/wp-content/uploads/OCI-Acquisition-Presentation.pdf
https://ieefa.org/resources/company-turns-halt-gas-methanol-project-permanent-cancellation