Category: Middle East

Jordan’s Prime Minister Jaafar Hassan laid the foundation stone for the second phase of Jordan Phosphate Mines (JPMC) new sulphuric and phosphoric acid plants at Al-Shidiya in a ceremony in mid-February. The Phase II expansion aims to increase the sulphuric acid plant's production capacity from 2,200 t/d to 4,450 t/d (1.5 million t/a). The phase will generate an additional 20 MW of energy per hour, with the potential to export 9 MW. The project will also boost the production capacity of the phosphoric acid plant from 900 t/d to 1,600 t/d (equivalent to 550,000 t/a P2 O5 ). Construction is expected to be completed, and operations begun by September of this year. With the expansion of the industrial complex in Aqaba and future projects involving potash and partnerships in the phosphoric acid industry, JPMC plans to increase its local consumption to 70%, while reducing external exports by 30%.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has launched a tender for the expansion of offshore gas production at its Satah Al Razboot (SARB) field, part of the Emirate’s huge Ghasha concession. The scope of work will include the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of at least two wellhead platforms with multiple related facilities and the installation of a 24” subsea gas pipeline to new inlet facilities at Das Island. The project will also include brownfield tie-ins at Al Qatia, Bu Sikeen Islands, Das and Zirku and Arzanah Islands.

Spetco’s contract with the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) to install depletion compression systems and sulphur recovery units (SRUs) is said to be awaiting final approval. The $460 million project will upgrade two key facilities in North Kuwait, and Spetco says that it expects project execution will start quickly after final approval. The project involves installing new units at the Early Production Facility 50 (EPF-50) and Jurassic Production Facility 3 (JPF-3) using uses a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) contract model. The contract was originally tendered in 2023, but scope changes meant that the deadline has been extended several times.

Maire Group says that its NextChem (Sustainable Technology Solutions) subsidiary has been awarded a three-year contract by Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical (SATORP) – a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and TotalEnergies – to provide engineering and technology services related to the sulphur recovery complex of SATORP’s refinery in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. NextChem will provide process and engineering advisory services to enhance performance, support operational troubleshooting, and improve energy efficiency and the carbon footprint of the three units (sulphur recovery unit, amine regeneration unit and sour water stripper) which comprise the sulphur recovery complex. The services will also include recommendations for capital investment opportunities, design enhancements, and technology improvements.

TotalEnergies and its partners Basra Oil Company and QatarEnergy have begun construction works at ArtawiGas25, a processing facility for the associated gas from the Ratawi field, located in the Basra region. The facility, part of the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), represents an investment of around $250 million and will process 50 million scf/d of gas which would previously have been flared. The gas will supply local power plants, covering the demand of approximately 200,000 households in the Basra region. The GGIP project is a $10 billion project designed to enhance the development of Iraq’s natural resources and improve the country’s electricity supply. It includes a large-scale gas processing plant, with a first phase of 300 million scf/d that will recover gas being flared on three oil fields and supply gas to 1.5 GW of power generation capacity.

12 Dec 2024 On 8 December, Syrian rebel forces led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted the government of Bashar al-Assad. The now thirteen-year long civil war in the Middle Eastern nation has proven hugely disruptive to its phosphate rock production. During the 2020s exports recovered strongly amid Russian intervention and a lull […]

NextChem has been awarded two contracts to upgrade and expand the capacity of the Heydar Aliyev Oil Refinery (HAOR) industrial complex in Baku by state oil company SOCAR. As part of the contract, NextChem will conduct a technological assessment and deliver a process design package to upgrade the existing sulphur recovery unit (SRU) with oxygen enriched air, a cost-effective and flexible solution for expanding its current sulphur production capacity. Additionally, NextChem will provide the licensing and the process design package based on its proprietary NX SulphuRec TM technology for a new SRU. NX SulphuRec TM is a portfolio of proprietary sulphur recovery technologies, based on the integration of modified Claus and tail gas treatment processes, aimed at reducing the environmental impact of acid and sour gases produced during the refining process.

While underlying supply and demand criteria continue to set floors and ceilings for nitrogen and other syngas derived products, political events as ever have the potential to derail all calculations. While much attention has focused on the US election, the escalating crisis in the Middle East continues to have the potential to threaten fertilizer trade in multiple ways. As this issue was going to press, Israel had just launched its retaliatory missile strike on Tehran, on October 26th, the latest in a series of tit for tat attacks between Israel and Iran, in particular an Iranian missile strike on Israel on October 1st. The Iranian government appeared to be downplaying the results as “limited”, but said that it considered itself “entitled and obligated to defend itself”.

QatarEnergy has announced its decision to build a new, world-scale urea production complex that will more than double Qatar’s urea production. The project is aiming to construct three ammonia production lines which will supply four new world-scale urea production trains in Mesaieed Industrial City. Total capacity for the new complex is projected to be 6.4 million t/a, more than doubling Qatar’s annual urea production from about 6 million tons per annum currently to 12.4 million tons per annum. Production from the project’s first new urea train is expected before the end of this decade.

OCP Group has launched what it calls the Mzinda-Meskala Strategic Programme, aimed at significantly expanding fertilizer production in the country. Initially announced in December 2022, the program is set to enhance production capacity in two key regions: the Mzinda-Safi Corridor and the Meskala-Essaouira Corridor. This initiative is part of OCP’s broader strategy to meet growing global demand for fertilizers while committing to long-term sustainability goals, including achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.