The Methanol Institute and its member companies have again joined with Jim Jordan & Associates to host the premier -- and only -- methanol conference being held in North America in 2004. The Methanol Forum will be held on Wednesday, October 13th and Thursday October 14th at the St. Regis Hotel in Houston, Texas. A stellar line up of two dozen presenters and moderators will provide attendees with a clearer picture of the rapid changes in the methanol market, under the theme "Managing Global Transition: Mega Plants, Markets and Movement."

     Program highlights include many current headline issues:

    *  James Kendell, U.S. Energy Information Administration, will discuss the
       U.S. and global natural gas outlook;
    *  Matthias Wietbrock, KFW Group of Germany, will provide an overview of
       international methanol project financing;
    *  Ken Julian, Chairman of the Natural Gas Export Task Force of Trinidad
       and Tobago, will talk about the potential role for methanol in
       generating electricity throughout the Caribbean;
    *  Ray Glaser, Borden Chemicals, will highlight activities in the
       formaldehyde market; and
    *  K.S. Cheema, Oman Methanol Co., will discuss the Sohar Methanol Project
       in Oman;

The Methanol Forum will feature a session on the latest fuel cell technology including presentations on methanol to hydrogen fueling stations, methanol fuel cell-powered scooters, and micro fuel cells for consumer electronic devices. Consultant group, DeWitt & Co. will host two sessions on MTBE demand and new growth opportunities for methanol. The Forum will close with a "first-ever" panel discussion featuring representatives of the major methanol consultancies: Jim Jordan and Associates; CMAI; Tecnon OrbiChem; and DeWitt & Co.

The Methanol Forum will be held from 12:45 to 5:30 PM on Wednesday, October 13th, and from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM on Thursday, October 14th. The St. Regis Hotel is conveniently located in the Galleria area in Houston. An opening night reception hosted by Methanol Holdings Trinidad Ltd. will take place on Wednesday evening, and Thursday afternoon's luncheon will be hosted by Metor of Venezuela.

For a complete agenda and for information on hotels and conference registration visit: http://www.jordan-associates.com or http://www.methanol.org.

SOURCE The Methanol Institute

Gregory Dolan of the Methanol Institute, +1-703-248-3636 or
gdolan@methanol.org, or Marybeth Maloy Gebauer of Jim Jordan & Associates,
+1-281-877-7059 or mmaloy@jordan-associates.com

http://www.methanol.org