(Yicai Global) Nov. 20 -- A chemical plant using natural gas to produce methanol in North China has shut down for about three months to secure the natural gas supply for home and other civilian use during the winter.

Boyuan United Chemical Industry has stopped its natural gas methanol plant since Nov. 16, its parent company Yuan Xing Energy announced yesterday. Both firms are based in Ordos in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The unit reduced its production of methanol by about 50,000 tons per month during the estimated three-month stoppage. Production will resume when the natural gas supply again becomes available. The company will inspect, repair, and maintain the plant during the closure, per the announcement.

The facility is designed to have an annual production capacity of 1 million tons, so it will likely incur a monthly cost of about CNY14 million (USD2 million) during the cessation of operations. The shutdown and maintenance will certainly impact the listed parent's [SHE:000683] performance, the announcement added.

Winter is the peak for North China's heating energy consumption. The national government is promoting natural gas for heating as a replacement for traditional coal use to rein in air pollution.

The resulting jump in natural gas demand has pinched supplies, which fell short of demand by over 11.3 billion cubic meters last year, Yicai Global reported. Mothballing industrial users over the cold months is thus one obvious solution.

Editor: Ben Armour