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Nitrogen+Syngas 394 Mar-Apr 2025

19 March 2025

Fertiglobe expects FID on green ammonia projects soon

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Fertiglobe expects FID on green ammonia projects soon

In its 4Q 2024 results presentation, Abu Dhabi-based Fertiglobe said that it expects to reach a final investment decision (FID) on two clean hydrogen and ammonia projects in the US and Egypt in 2025. Fertiglobe confirmed that FID on the ADNOC-ExxonMobil low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia project in Baytown, Texas, is expected in 2025, with operations anticipated to begin in 2029. ADNOC’s 35% equity stake in the project will be transferred to Fertiglobe at cost once the project is operational.

An FID for the Egypt Green Hydrogen project is also expected in the first half of 2025, backed by demand and pricing support from H2Global, according to Fertiglobe. The project will feature a 100 MW electrolyser facility, producing renewable hydrogen as feedstock for approximately 74,000 t/a of renewable ammonia at Fertiglobe’s existing ammonia facilities in Ain Sokhna, Egypt. Production is scheduled to commence in 2027.

Meanwhile, construction of a 1.0 million t/a blue ammonia facility in the UAE began in Q3 2024, with operations set to start in 2027. A preliminary life cycle assessment study estimates that Phase 1 of the plant will produce ammonia with 50% lower carbon intensity compared to conventional methods. In its second phase, the facility aims to further reduce carbon emissions through CO₂ capture and sequestration. Fertiglobe currently holds a 30% stake in the project and will consolidate ADNOC’s share at cost upon start-up, increasing its ownership to 54%.

Latest in Africa

New phosphoric acid plant

Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Karim Badawi and New Valley Governor, Mohamed Al-Zamlout were present at the signing of a framework agreement between a consortium of Egyptian public companies to build a new phosphoric acid plant at Abu Tartour in the New Valley region. The project aims to maximise added value and increasing the economic return on Egyptian phosphate ore by using it in higher-yield industries rather than exporting it as a raw material. The Egyptian state-owned consortium includes Abu Qir Fertilizers; East Gas Company, Mineral Resources and Mining Industries Authority; Misr Phosphate, AT-PHOS, Petroleum Projects and Technical Consultations Company (PETROJET), and Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries (ENPPI), all of which are shareholders in the project. The contractor agreement was signed with a Chinese consortium of China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) and East China Engineering Science and Technology Co (ECEC).

Sonatrach awards Saipem phosphate project FEED contract

Saipem has won a front-end engineering design (FEED) contract from Sonatrach for an integrated phosphate fertilizer project in Algeria. The contract was awarded through a dual competitive process, enabling the design work to be conducted by both Saipem and a competitor company. Sonatrach will assess and compare the two FEED options from both parties, select the best technical and economic design, and then proceed with the direct award of an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to execute the project.

OCP certifies low cadmium phosphates

OCP Nutricrops has received a certification that its customised phosphate fertilizers, developed specifically for the European market, meet the EU’s stringent low cadmium content requirements. The certified fertilizers contain less than 20 milligrams of cadmium per kilogram of phosphorus pentoxide (P2 O5 ), far below the European Union’s regulatory ceiling of 60 mg/kg. OCP Nutricrops says that it plans to expand this low-cadmium benchmark across all its fertilizer products worldwide by the end of 2025. Reducing cadmium in agricultural fertilizers is considered a public health priority across Europe. This initiative is closely aligned with EU goals to mitigate food-related health risks and safeguard ecosystems from harmful contaminants.