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Nitrogen+Syngas 399 Jan-Feb 2026

Tecnimont wins damages against EuroChem


UNITED KINGDOM

Tecnimont wins damages against EuroChem

Maire Group says that, in relation to its ongoing dispute with Russian EuroChem Group, its subsidiary Tecnimont has obtained immediately enforceable orders for conservatory measures to freeze assets of EuroChem Group for an amount of approximately €1.1 billion. These measures are based on the leave granted to Tecnimont by the ICC Arbitral Tribunal seated in London, to seize EuroChem’s assets in every country, totalling €1.1 billion. Further seizure requests are underway in several jurisdictions. The Arbitral Tribunal has also found that Tecnimont is entitled to apply to judicial authorities to obtain asset freeze measures against EuroChem Group’s assets worldwide, by way of security for the further potential damages caused by EuroChem Group’s recent unlawful legal actions undertaken in Russia.

Latest in Policy & Regulation

Acid leak into ship canal

Around 1 million gallons of sulphuric acid was released from an industrial facility, some of it into the Houston Ship Channel, in late December. A pipeline ruptured when an elevated walkway collapsed at the BWC Terminals facility in Channelview, east of Houston. Two people were transported to a hospital and subsequently released, while 44 others were treated and released at the scene. BWC Terminals said in a statement the majority of the sulphuric acid released was into a designated containment area, with a smaller, unknown amount entering the ship channel.

Sulphur ban extended

At the end of December, the Russian government extended its ban on the export of technical sulphur until at least the end of March 2026. The move prolongs the initial restrictions, which were first reported on 4 November and which were set to expire at the end of 2025. The initial ban was widely expected and followed early September drone strikes on the Astrakhan and Orenburg natural-gas plants. The official justification for the extension remains to “stabilise shipments of raw materials to the domestic market” and maintain production volumes for mineral fertilizers, according to the government’s press service Interfax.

Predicting the unpredictable

The start of the new year has shown that 2026 is already proving to be a very eventful one, beginning with the US abduction of Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro, which has prompted questions over production at the country’s ailing nitrogen assets, as well as the potential for a future boost to gas supplies to Trinidad. Meanwhile the Iranian government faces its most sustained public challenge since the 1979 revolution, and possible US military intervention, threatening continued exports from the country. In Europe, the future of fertilizers’ inclusion in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has been thrown into doubt barely a week after the new regulations came into force, as France and Italy pushed for an exemption for crop nutrient imports.

ClassNK approves ammonia/methanol powered bulk carrier

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