World Analysis – Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether (MTBE)

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050

Methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) is produced by the chemical reaction of methanol with isobutylene. MTBE is primarily used as a blend component in the gasoline pool, whereas other applications are rather small and mainly based on the production of intermediate high-purity isobutylene (HPIB). MTBE benefits from attractive blending properties such as high-octane value and low vapor pressure. In the past, tetraethyl lead was added as an anti-knocking relatively into gasoline but was banned in most countries late in the previous century because of environmental and health concerns. The phaseout of leaded gasoline accelerated the growth of MTBE demand. Growing concerns about vehicle emissions further boosted demand for oxygenates such as MTBE as these components allow for more complete gasoline combustion.

Over the years, demand for MTBE in the gasoline pool has seen some dramatic changes. These ups and downs are a common feature for the fuel ether industry as demand is not only driven by gasoline pull but also depends strongly on gasoline specification developments and other regulatory changes. The primary example of such an event was the phasing out of MTBE from the United States gasoline pool in the early 2000s, which was mainly driven by environmental concerns and a strong lobby from the agricultural sector for the use of direct ethanol. At the time, global MTBE demand was almost halved as the US had been by far the largest consumer of MTBE. The United States is still a key producer due to low-cost feedstocks but essentially exports all MTBE produced.

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050

The World Analysis – MTBE provides a comprehensive analysis and key insights into critical market developments as they shape the future outlook for the global MTBE market.

The following reports, data files, analytical tools and visualization modules are available online and can be downloaded from our website:

• Direct Access to the Subject Matter Experts
• In-depth exploration of present market strategic insights, recognition of critical challenges, and presentation of our experts’ forecasts and analysis
• Explanatory Notes detailing data sources, methodologies, unit and conversion factors, and World Analysis deliverables.
• Energy and Economy assumptions
• Price, cost, and margin base assumptions forecast and sensitivities analysis, including price assessment methodology and price definitions across all regions.
• Excel data files with standard supply/demand graphics and price forecasts extended to 2050, trade grids with country and regional trade flows Data appendix (Excel) with supply/demand, capacity and trade tables.
• An online dashboard visualization of capacity, supply/demand, trade grids, and price, cost and margin forecasts
• Supply/demand and capacity database access via data browser
• Data Appendix (Excel) with supply/demand and capacity tables
• Capacity by company/shareholder, capacity integration, top producer/consumer and surplus/deficit capacity ranking, and ownership/subsidiary information

In addition to the leading products, MTBE and ETBE, capacity data are also provided for the following products:

• High Purity Isobutylene (HPIB)

This World Analysis contains detailed information on capacities, production, demand, and trade for all significant producing and consuming countries and regions. Although data gathering is essential for understanding history and potential future trends, we believe that the interpretation and analysis of the data is the most valuable information to our clients.

Duration: Long-term outlook to 2050