South Texas Methanol Plant May Expand Operations -- April 17, 2015

FuelFix is reporting:

Celanese Corp. is considering expanding its South Texas chemical plant to produce methanol, the company has announced.

Building a methanol unit at the plant in Bishop near Corpus Christi would be the latest move by the Dallas-based chemical company to capitalize on an abundance of cheap U.S. shale gas. Celanese has been building a new methanol unit in Clear Lake, southeast of Houston under a joint venture with Mitsui & Co., one of Japan’s largest generally traded companies.

The project, which should be finished by October, will have the capacity to produce 1.3 million tons of methanol per year. Made from natural gas, methanol is used in a wide range of products, including plastics, paints, solvents, refrigerants and pigments.
According to projections, the world will add 50 million metric tons of new methanol capacity within the next decade, with about one-third of that coming from North America.

So, while every story in America is about growing, the Mideast continues to build up for war. The Hill is reporting:

U.S. military officials are concerned that Iran's support for Houthi rebels in Yemen could spark a confrontation with Saudi Arabia and plunge the region into sectarian war.
Iran is sending an armada of seven to nine ships — some with weapons — toward Yemen in a potential attempt to resupply the Shia Houthi rebels, according to two U.S. defense officials. 

Officials fear the move could lead to a showdown with the U.S. or other members of a Saudi-led coalition, which is enforcing a naval blockade of Yemen and is conducting its fourth week of airstrikes against the Houthis.

Iran sent a destroyer and another vessel to waters near Yemen last week but said it was part of a routine counter-piracy mission. 

What's unusual about the new deployment, which set out this week, is that the Iranians are not trying to conceal it, officials said. Instead, they appear to be trying to "communicate it" to the U.S. and its allies in the Gulf. 

The really, really good news for Iran: the US president is trying to run out the clock. His original staff is dwindling; the ones that are still there are working on their resumes for LifeAfterObama.