Sulphur 416 Jan-Feb 2025
31 January 2025
A complete listing of all articles and news items that appeared in Sulphur magazine during 2024.
Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) has inaugurated its new, third sulphuric acid plant at its facility in Paradeep, Odisha. This expansion significantly boosts the site's total production capability from 750,000 t/a to 2.2 million t/a. The plant, dedicated by Union Minister Amit Shah, highlights a major increase in domestic capacity for India's fertilizer industry.
Devon Energy has signed a definitive merger agreement with Coterra Energy. The companies say that the combination will create a leading shale operator with a high-quality asset base anchored by a premier position in the economic core of the Delaware Basin. The combined company will be named Devon Energy and will be headquartered in Houston while maintaining a significant presence in Oklahoma City. The companies say that they have identified $1 billion in annual pre-tax synergies which, together with technology-driven capital efficiency gains and optimised capital allocation will drive near and long-term per share growth.
While Brazil is the largest consumer, trade in acid in South America has been dominated
Coromandel International says that it has started trial production at its new sulphuric acid and phosphoric acid plants in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh. The company says that this marks a crucial step towards transforming the unit into a fully integrated facility, significantly enhancing production capacity and diminishing reliance on imported raw materials for fertiliser manufacturing. The company is now focusing on a phased ramp-up. The new plants have of 2,000 t/d of sulphuric acid and 650 t/d of phosphoric acid, respectively. The integration of these acid plants is strategic, aligning with Coromandel's objective to strengthen backward integration in its fertiliser manufacturing value chain. By producing key intermediates in-house, the company aims to secure stable supplies, enhance cost efficiencies, and achieve greater self-sufficiency, thereby reducing dependence on imported raw materials. The project aims to replace over 50% of the Kakinada plant's imported acid requirements and mirror the integration levels seen at its Vizag and Ennore facilities.
Following an increase in its processing capacity, Duqm Refinery is now looking at further expansion projects at the $9 billion refinery project located, in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm (SEZAD) on Oman’s southeast coast. The refinery, which now has an expanded capacity of 255,000 bbl/d, is run by OQ8, a joint venture between Kuwait Petroleum International (KPI) and Oman’s OQ Group. Speaking to local media, CEO Abdulla Al Ajmi said that OQ8 has now begun front end engineering design on a reformer unit to upgrade naphtha into high-octane gasoline components such as reformate, a critical step in producing finished, specification-grade fuels. In addition to the proposed reformer unit, Duqm Refinery is also exploring opportunities to enhance value creation from its refining by-products, notably sulphur and coke.