Category: Africa

OCI Global says that it has reached an agreement for the sale of 100% of its interest in its large-scale nitrogen fertilizer subsidiary the Iowa Fertilizer Company LLC, located in Wever, Iowa, to Koch Ag & Energy Solutions for $3.6 billion. Completion of the transaction remains subject to US anti-trust approval and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in 2024. Morgan Stanley & Co. International plc is serving as financial advisor to OCI on the transaction. IFCO produced 1.2 million t/a of urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) in 2021 and 700,000 t/a of anhydrous ammonia, as well as 700,000 t/a of diesel exhaust fluid (DEF).

Maire Group subsidiary MyRechemical has been awarded a feasibility study for the integration of its proprietary waste-tosyngas technology in a large-scale conversion plant that would transform solid municipal waste into 120,000 t/a of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). MyRechemical would provide the gasification unit to transform solid waste streams into synthesis gas, which would then be converted into low carbon ethanol and then to SAF.

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) has entered into a partnership with Metso and thyssenkrupp Uhde to develop and license an integrated process to reduce carbon emissions and recycle phosphogypsum in Saudi Arabia. A framework agreement between the three partners was jointly announced on 10th January.

BHP has approved an investment of $4.9 billion (CAD 6.4 billion) in stage two of its Jansen potash project (Jansen Stage 2) in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Merchant markets for ammonia have faced considerable disruption in recent years due to the covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Jiangsu Sailboat Petrochemical has started up a CO2 -to-methanol plant at the Shenghong Petrochemical Industrial Park. The plant was developed in conjunction with Iceland’s Carbon Recycling International (CRI), with the plant brought to life in under two years from the initial contract signing. The methanol plant uses CRI’s proprietary emissions-to-liquids (ETL) technology, transforming waste carbon dioxide and hydrogen gases into sustainable, commercial-grade methanol. According to CRI, uses 150,000 t/a of carbon dioxide sourced from waste streams at the large petrochemical complex as feedstock, significantly reducing emissions that would have otherwise been released into the atmosphere. The plant has the capacity to produce 100,000 t/a of sustainable methanol, used primarily to supply Jiangsu’s methanol to olefins facility to produce chemical derivatives, including sustainable plastics and EVA coatings for solar panels. This is expected to reduce the reliance on fossil-based methanol to drive more sustainable value chains and carbon footprint reduction initiatives across various sectors, such as industrial manufacturing and renewable energy.

Proman has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mitsubishi Corp to collaborate on the development of a blue ammonia plant at Lake Charles, Louisiana. This new facility will aim to produce around 1.2 million t/a of low carbon ammonia, making it one of the largest of its kind in the world. The plant will incorporate carbon capture and sequestration technology. Proman says that this development aligns with the company’s commitment to sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The proposed ammonia plant will be located at Proman’s existing site in Lake Charles, adjacent to its gas-to-methanol plant, which is also currently being developed.

First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has contracted with MECS, Inc. (MECS), a subsidiary of Elessent Clean Technologies, for the Kansanshi smelter expansion at the Kansanshi mine at Solwezi. MECS’ scope of work will include a redesign of the existing sulphur-burning sulphuric acid plant into a copper smelter off-gas recovery sulphuric acid plant. This transition to a copper smelter off-gas recovery acid plant will enable First Quantum to reduce emissions from the existing copper smelter, increase production at the mine, and supply more copper to the global market, which will enable the adoption of greener technologies. MECS’ design for First Quantum incorporates proprietary technologies such as MECS® catalyst for low emissions and high conversion, Brink® mist eliminators, ZeCor® alloy towers and pump tank and UniFlo® acid distributor technology for operational reliability and efficiency.

Tecnimont, part of MAIRE’s Integrated E&C Solutions business unit, has signed a letter of award with ADNOC for the onshore processing plant of the Hail and Ghasha Development Project. The award was signed at ADIPEC, the world’s largest energy summit. The project aims to operate with net zero CO 2 emissions, in part due to the facility’s CO 2 carbon capture and recovery units, which will allow the capture and storage of CO 2 . The project will capture 1.5 million t/a of CO 2 , taking ADNOC’s committed carbon capture capacity to almost 4 million t/a. The company recently announced its decision to double its carbon capture capacity to 10 million t/a by 2030. The Hail and Ghasha CO 2 will be captured, transported onshore and stored underground, while low-carbon hydrogen will be produced to replace fuel gas and further reduce emissions, according to ADNOC. The project will also use power from nuclear power plants and renewable sources from the grid.

SunGas Renewables Inc. has formed a new subsidiary, Beaver Lake Renewable Energy, LLC (BLRE), to construct a new green methanol production facility in central Louisiana. The project will have a capacity of 400,000 t/a of green methanol, using gasified biomass, specifically wood fibre from local, sustainably-managed forests as feedstock. The methanol will have a negative carbon intensity through sequestration of the nearly 1.0 million t/a of carbon dioxide produced by the project, which will be executed by Denbury Carbon Solutions. The methanol will then be used as a clean marine fuel by A.P. Moller–Maersk, which is building a fleet of methanol-powered container vessels.