For thirty-two years, a methanol plant in Taranaki has stood as both anchor and emblem of New Zealand's gas-dependent industrial economy. Now, as natural reserves thin and no new supply appears on the horizon, Methanex has chosen to close its Motonui facility by February 2027 — a decision that will cost more than 200 workers their livelihoods and force a region, and a nation, to reckon with the long consequences of energy policy choices made years ago. The closure is not merely a corporate withdrawal; it is a visible settling of debts accumulated across a decade of declining investment, a 2018
Methanex to close Taranaki plant by 2027 as NZ gas supply dwindles
Over 200 direct jobs at Methanex will be lost, with additional job losses expected across regional engineering and technical support industries.
No clear path to meaningful new supply
Mark
So Methanex is leaving because the gas is running out. But they've been there 32 years. What changed?
Mimi
The gas supply has been declining for years, but Methanex says there's no clear path to new supply now. They've been managing it, but at some point you can't manage your way through a shrinking resource.
Luke
Right, but we should be careful here. Methanex says there's no clear path to new supply. That's their assessment. We don't know if other companies would make the same call or if there actually is gas available that Methanex decided wasn't worth pursuing.
Mark
Fair point. So what about the jobs? How many people actually lose work?
Mimi
Methanex directly employs over 200 people. But the mayor says the real number is closer to 300 when you count the engineering firms, electrical contractors, and technical support industries that depend on the plant.
Luke
The mayor said "about 300 high-paying jobs." That's his estimate of the ripple effect. The direct employment figure from Methanex is over 200. Those are two different numbers and it matters which one we're talking about.
Mark
And the gas they were using—40 percent of the country's supply—that frees up for other uses?
Mimi
In theory, yes. The Green Party says it means more gas for electricity generation. But the mayor says the LNG import terminal the Government is planning was never about keeping Methanex running anyway.
Luke
That's a genuine disagreement about policy intent. The Greens think the terminal is now unnecessary. The mayor says it was always meant for something else—stabilizing the electricity market in dry years. Both could be true, or one side could be wrong about what the terminal was designed for.
Mark
So this is really about the 2018 ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration?
Mimi
That's what the mayor is pointing to. He's saying the ban meant no new wells could be developed, and it takes seven to ten years to bring a well online, so we're now seeing the consequences.
Luke
That's a causal claim—the ban led to declining supply, which led to Methanex leaving. It's plausible, but we'd need to know more about the actual gas reserves, what Methanex's contracts looked like, and whether there was gas available that the company chose not to pursue for economic reasons.
Der Puls
- New Zealand's single largest gas consumer is walking away, and the 40 percent of national supply it once absorbed now has nowhere obvious to go.
- Over 200 direct jobs vanish with the plant, and the ripple reaches deep into Taranaki's engineering, electrical, and instrumentation trades that grew up around it.
- The closure has cracked open a fierce political argument: the Green Party says Methanex's exit kills the case for a $1 billion LNG import terminal, while local leaders insist the terminal was never about methanol in the first place.
- Mayor Max Brough traces the wound back to Labour's 2018 offshore exploration ban, arguing the region is now living through consequences that were always coming, just slower than anyone wanted to admit.
- Methanex has placed the plant in 'indefinite idle' rather than demolishing it — a careful hedge that keeps the door ajar without promising anything.
For thirty-two years, a methanol plant in Taranaki has stood as both anchor and emblem of New Zealand's gas-dependent industrial economy. Now, as natural reserves thin and no new supply appears on the horizon, Methanex has chosen to close its Motonui facility by February 2027 — a decision that will cost more than 200 workers their livelihoods and force a region, and a nation, to reckon with the long consequences of energy policy choices made years ago. The closure is not merely a corporate withdrawal; it is a visible settling of debts accumulated across a decade of declining investment, a 2018 exploration ban, and the slow arithmetic of depletion.
Methanex, the Canadian company that has run New Zealand's only methanol plant for three decades, announced in early September that it will end production at its Motonui facility, north of Waitara, by the close of February 2027. The company cited years of declining natural gas availability and said it could no longer see a viable path forward. Its remaining gas contracts will be sold off as they expire in early 2027, and the plant will be placed into indefinite idle — preserved but dormant.
The scale of the loss is significant. Methanex employs more than 200 people and consumes 40 percent of New Zealand's natural gas supply, exporting roughly 95 percent of its methanol output to Asia Pacific markets. Chief executive Rich Sumner acknowledged the plant's contribution to both the company's global operations and New Zealand's energy sector, but said the trajectory of gas supply had made the decision unavoidable.
For Taranaki, the blow extends well beyond the plant gates. New Plymouth mayor Max Brough estimated around 300 high-paying jobs would be lost when indirect roles in engineering and technical support are counted alongside direct Methanex positions. He connected the closure to Labour's 2018 ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration, noting that the seven-to-ten-year lag between policy and production meant the region was only now feeling the full weight of that decision.
The announcement immediately inflamed debate over the Government's proposed $1 billion LNG import terminal. Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick argued that Methanex's departure removed the terminal's central justification and called for the project to be cancelled, describing it as a 'daft deal' with little public support. Brough rejected that framing, insisting the terminal was designed to stabilise electricity supply during dry years — not to sustain methanol manufacturing.
Methanex said it would support its workforce through the transition and focus on safe operations and site preservation in the months ahead. For Taranaki, the closure ends thirty years of industrial continuity and opens an uncertain chapter for a region whose identity and economy have long been shaped by the energy sector beneath its soil.
Methanex, the Canada-based company that has operated New Zealand's only methanol plant for 32 years, announced in early September that it will shut down production by the end of February 2027. The decision marks the end of an era for Taranaki's energy sector and removes from the market the country's single largest consumer of natural gas.
The company said it had agreed to sell off its remaining gas contracts starting in the first quarter of 2027, when those entitlements expire. The Motonui facility, located north of Waitara, will be placed into what the company calls "indefinite idle" status—a preservation mode that leaves open the theoretical possibility of restart if circumstances change. But for now, the methanol manufacturing operation that has anchored the region's industrial base will cease.
Methanex currently employs more than 200 people at the plant. About 95 percent of what they produce is exported to customers across the Asia Pacific region. The company consumes 40 percent of New Zealand's natural gas supply. In a statement to 1News, Methanex said it had been contending with declining gas availability for several years and could no longer see a viable path forward. "With no clear path to meaningful new supply," the company explained, it had lost confidence in its ability to sustain operations. Rich Sumner, the company's president and chief executive, acknowledged that the New Zealand operation had made significant contributions to the firm's global business and to New Zealand's energy sector. But he also noted that Methanex had been preparing for this possibility given the trajectory of gas availability in the country.
The closure will reverberate far beyond the plant gates. New Plymouth mayor Max Brough told 1News that while the announcement had been anticipated for some time, that knowledge did not ease the blow of losing approximately 300 high-paying jobs in the region—a figure that accounts for direct Methanex employment plus positions in the engineering, electrical, and instrumentation industries that depend on the plant's operations. "Methanex and the gas industry has been very good to Taranaki," Brough said. "So to get to this point doesn't make it any easier." He pointed out that the closure is part of a longer contraction that began with the Labour Government's 2018 decision to ban new offshore oil and gas exploration. Given that it takes seven to ten years to bring a new well into production, Brough suggested the consequences of that policy were now becoming visible.
The announcement has also reignited debate over the Government's proposed $1 billion LNG import terminal project. The Green Party seized on the news to argue that Methanex's departure removes the primary justification for the facility. Co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick called on the Government to cancel the project, saying that Methanex leaving the market would free up gas supply through the end of the decade for electricity generation. She characterized the LNG terminal as a "daft deal" and suggested that public opposition to the project was overwhelming. Brough, however, pushed back on this framing. He said the LNG terminal was always intended to stabilize the electricity market during dry years, not to keep Methanex running. "It's not there to power Methanex—never was," he said.
Methanex told staff of the decision and said it was committed to supporting employees and their families through the transition. The company plans to focus on safe operations and facility preservation over the coming months. For Taranaki, the closure marks the end of three decades of industrial activity and the beginning of an uncertain period as the region adjusts to the loss of one of its largest employers and the technical workforce that has grown around it.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
With no clear path to meaningful new supply, we have confirmed the sale of our remaining gas from March 2027. Production in New Zealand will cease at this point.— Methanex statement to 1News
Methanex and the gas industry has been very good to Taranaki. So to get to this point doesn't make it any easier.— New Plymouth mayor Max Brough
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