Category: Europe

Russian media reports suggest that a large scale Ukrainian drone strike on February 3rd attacked a number of oil and gas processing facilities, including Gazprom’s Astrakhan Gas Processing Plant. Video of the site showing fires burning were posted to social media. Astrakhan is one of the largest sulphur producing sites in Russia, with an output of around 3.5 million t/a in 2024. The Moscow Times reported that production had been shut down at the site, and would likely remain so for “several months”.

SKW Piesteritz cut production and closed one of its two ammonia plants indefinitely in mid-January.

Fertilizer International interviews Graeme Cousland, Managing Director, and Martyn Dean, Sales Director, Begg Cousland Envirotec Limited.

Grupa Azoty has started production of a new sulphur-enriched fertilizer at its Police complex in Poland.

Russia is considering limiting potash exports from the second quarter of 2025.

The European Commission is proposing to place tariffs on EU fertilizer imports from Russia and Belarus.

High energy storage costs for renewable-based technologies are likely to make European long term carbon prices considerably higher than their present levels.

Expensive feedstock, overseas competition and tightening environmental regulations all pose potential threats to Europe’s nitrogen industry.

The 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction goals in the European Union are driving oil and gas producers to reduce CO2 emissions wherever possible. This extends to even the incinerator attached to a sulphur recovery unit (SRU). In this article Sulphur Experts review the role of the incinerator, how the three most common European TGUs each affect the demand on the incinerator itself, and the potential reduction in CO2 emissions for a generic facility of each type.

Short term supply constraints are dominating acid markets at present, but increasing smelter production across Asia may lead to oversupply in the longer term.