Most people are at least somewhat aware that the U.S. shale oil boom has resulted in lower fuel prices at the pump. But they are probably less familiar with the economic impacts of the shale gas boom. I have covered some of the impacts of the cheap shale gas bounty in the past. They include a surge of natural gas exports to Mexico and displacement of coal in electric power production. Today I want to talk about the impact on the chemical manufacturing industry. Natural gas is used in chemical manufacture both as a raw material and as a source of fuel. The constituents of natural gas — methane, ethane, propane, etc. — can be separated out, with each being used as a raw material for different chemical processes. Methane, for instance, is the primary raw material for methanol production. In 2015, Canada’s Methanex – the world’s largest methanol […]