Nitrogen+Syngas 371 May-Jun 2021
31 May 2021
Nitrogen project listing 2021
PROJECT LISTING
Nitrogen project listing 2021
Nitrogen+Syngas’s annual listing of new ammonia, urea, nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants.
Latest in Outlook & Reviews
Policy impacts on nitrogen markets
Nitrogen markets, and urea in particular, have been impacted by a series of geopolitical shocks in recent years which have driven markets over and above normal market factors such as feedstock and shipping costs, crop prices etc.
Syngas from biomass gasification
For many years confined to pilot projects and feasibility studies, biomass based gasification is seeing rapid take up in China for methanol production and may mark a new era in syngas generation.
The market for ammonium phosphates
A market already characterised by tight supply has been thrown into chaos by the Iran war and reduction of phosphate exports from the Gulf at the knock on effect on sulphur prices, a key input into MAP/DAP production.
Nitrogen prices peak – for now
The start of May saw urea prices start to decline from the yearly highs seen in mid-April, as buyers from India, the US, and Europe stayed away from the markets. India is not expected to return with another tender before late May or early June at the earliest, after booking 2.5 million tonnes for shipment through mid-June, covering immediate requirements, and with domestic production having improved and stocks at a healthy level of over 7 million tonnes. In the US, earlier concerns over May shipments have eased, with net import figures not as low as initially feared, and even some re-export of cargoes to Latin America where higher prices can be earned. With the potential for China to return to export sales towards the end of May and start of June, there was at least a hope that the worst of the current price spike may be over.
Market Outlook
• Short-term outlook: Ammonia benchmarks are expected to remain under upward pressure. The PAU turnaround removes a key supply source from an already tight SE Asian market.