This leaves just 20 or so operators at the Motunui twin-train complex, where once over 200 staff were located, and perhaps these too will leave the coastal site next year if the “Meth 2” unit shuts down, leaving only the Waitara Valley plant producing methanol.
Public affairs manager Gerry Kennedy confirmed staff numbers would fall from 123 to only 81 in mid-December as Methanex continued assessing its options in a post-Maui age.
The shift to the valley has reminded some Methanex staff of the early days of Taranaki petrochemicals, where Petralgas (a joint venture between government-owned Petrocorp and Alberta Gas) produced solely methanol and the Motunui Synfuel complex synthetic petrol.
“It’s almost like we are back to the good old days,” said one Methanex staff member.
Methanex NZ managing director Harvey Weake has declined to comment on the reasons for the wholesale shift up the valley and future options for the gas-strapped company.
Methanex recently signed a deal with Bridge Petroleum and Westech Energy regarding funding of the Radnor gas wells in return for access to gas from the central Taranaki field. But Radnor is likely to only be sufficient to keep the valley plant operating in 2005.
