Category: Agricultural

CRU’s Humphrey Knight visits EuroChem’s newly opened Serra do Salitre phosphate fertilizer complex in southern Brazil.

Trammo, Inc. and ExxonMobil signed a heads of agreement to advance discussions for Trammo’s long-term offtake of 300-500,000 t/a of low-carbon ammonia from ExxonMobil’s Baytown, Texas facility. The facility is expected to produce virtually carbon-free ‘blue’ hydrogen with approximately 98% of CO2 removed, and will use this low-carbon hydrogen to make low-carbon ammonia. Trammo, a leading international physical commodity trader, will leverage its market and logistical expertise to deliver and sell in Europe and worldwide this unique low-carbon ammonia for use as fertilizer feedstock and for other key industrial applications.

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.

The Saipem Clough Joint Venture says that it has reached a major milestone on Perdaman’s Project Ceres urea plant, with the completion of construction of the first modules. The batch has been successfully loaded out and shipped from the project’s modular fabrication facility in India to its destination in Western Australia. Once completed, the 2.3 million t/a facility will be the largest urea plant in Australia. Clough and Saipem in a 50-50 joint venture, are delivering the engineering, procurement of equipment and materials, construction, pre-commissioning and commissioning for the urea project.

New carbon capture-based plants could see US nitrogen capacity jump over the next few years, but Trump attacks on IRA tax credits may scupper some ongoing projects.

India’s push to replace its sizeable urea imports with home grown capacity continues, but may not keep pace with rising domestic demand.

Horisont Energi says that Fertiberia’s participation in the Barents Blue ammonia project will end on February 28th 2025. The two companies had been collaborating on the project since August 2023. Horisont Energi says that it is now looking for additional industrial partners to “further strengthen” the project, which aims to produce 1.0 million t/a of low carbon ammonia using 99% carbon capture at a plant at Markoppnes in northern Norway. Barents Blue has secured sufficient power supply for the first phase of the project, and is supported by a grant via the EU IPCEI hydrogen program, Hy2Use. The project is targeting a final investment decision in 2026 and estimated production start in 2029/2030.

Nitrogen+Syngas ’s annual listing of new ammonia, urea, nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants.

thyssenkrupp Uhde says that it has been selected by MOPCO – the Misr Fertilizers Production Company – to supply advanced technology for three existing ammonia and urea plants in Damietta, Egypt, to improve the sustainability of production. Using an innovative carbon capture and usage (CCU) solution, the aim is to remove up to 145,000 t/a of CO2 from the flue gas of the existing ammonia production and use them to boost urea production. At the same time, three 150 t/d axial-radial flow uhde® ammonia converter cartridges using JM’s high performance KATALCOTM 74-1catalyst will be installed in the existing converters to increase ammonia production capacity while lowering natural gas consumption in the synthesis loop by around 10%. To bring down CO2 emissions further, additional green hydrogen feedstock will be sourced from new water electrolysis units powered by renewable energy. MOPCO plans to produce up to 150,000 t/a of green ammonia.

Support for ammonia prices in markets east of Suez eroded during February. The ongoing bubble of support seen in NW Europe remained just about intact, though news of further declines at Tampa for March and slumping natural-gas prices should begin to eat away at any remaining support in the West. After declining $70/t during the first two months of 2025, the Tampa settlement between Yara and Mosaic was revised down a further $40/t for March, imposing further downward pressure on f.o.b. values in Trinidad and the US Gulf.