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Sulphur 417 Mar-Apr 2025

19 March 2025

Major phosphate expansion announced

SENEGAL

Major phosphate expansion announced

Chemical Industries of Senegal (ICS) has launched two projects to increase phosphate fertilizer production in the country. At a company event, new managing director Mama Sougoufara said that between 2014 and 2023, ICS has expanded production to 2 million t/a of phosphate rock, 600,000 t/a of phosphoric acid, and 250,000 t/a of phosphate fertilizer. The new expansions, with a price tag put at $475 million, include a plant at Mbao to increase fertilizer output from 250,000 t/a to 600,000 t/a, as well as a new phosphate rock processing plant, increasing output by 300,000 t/a. The company has seen its financial situation improve in recent years thanks to its takeover by the Indorama Group, though the Senegalese government retains a 15% stake.

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Dangote cleared of breaching fuel sulphur limits

A UK–based energy watchdog, the Impact Investigators Platform (IIP), has dismissed allegations that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery imported substandard gasoline into Nigeria, describing the claims as “technically inaccurate, commercially implausible, and unsupported by verifiable evidence.” The IIP said its independent assessment of shipping data, customs declarations, and refinery process documentation found no indication that the refinery imported or sold Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) with sulphur levels above Nigeria’s approved limit of 50 parts per million (ppm). The investigation followed media reports alleging that a vessel had delivered high-sulphur gasoline to the Dangote Refinery under the guise of locally refined products. However, the IIP clarified that the cargo in question was an intermediate feedstock , a raw material used for refining and not finished gasoline meant for retail.