OREANDA-NEWS. Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global technology and specialty materials company, announced it has completed construction of its Clear Lake, Texas methanol unit and is now operating at full rates. This methanol unit is a joint venture between Celanese and Mitsui & Co., Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan and has annual capacity of 1.3 million metric tons.

“Everyone at Celanese is incredibly proud of this accomplishment. This investment provides us with supply certainty for a critical raw material and allows the Acetyl Chain to gain the economic benefit of abundant low-cost U.S. natural gas,” said Mark Rohr, chairman and chief executive officer, Celanese Corporation. “By leveraging our existing infrastructure and executing a very aggressive project plan, we were able to complete the methanol unit in 19 months and have it fully operational in 21 months with a capital cost of less than $700 per ton. Congratulations to the team for completing the most efficient and economical greenfield methanol plant in recent industry history.”

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global technology leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. With sales almost equally divided between North America, Europe and Asia, the company uses the full breadth of its global chemistry, technology and business expertise to create value for customers and the corporation. Celanese partners with customers to solve their most critical needs while making a positive impact on its communities and the world. Based in Dallas, Texas, Celanese employs approximately 7,500 employees worldwide and had 2014 net sales of $6.8 billion.