Category: Outlook & Reviews

Fertilizers are always political to some extent, sitting as they do at the intersection of key commodities such as oil and gas on the one hand and food on the other. Markets for major nitrogen derivatives have often been distorted by political decisions to achieve self-sufficiency in fertilizer production, such as in, e.g. China or India. But over the past couple of months ammonia has found itself particularly in the political spotlight, in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which continues to shape and indeed re-shape global commodity markets.

The ammonia market appears to be oversupplied as of the end of October 2022, with a ready availability of spot cargoes. Coupled with increased availability from European producers due to an easing of gas prices, this seemed to indicate bearish market sentiment for the immediate future.

The curtailment of ammonia production in Europe and reduction in export supply from Russia has led to an unprecedented year for the merchant ammonia market.

Refractories are heat resistant materials used in high temperature processes to protect industrial equipment such as utility boilers, heaters, and ammonia primary and secondary reformers against heat and chemical attack. In this article Hasan Akbari of Kermanshah petrochemical Industrial company (KPIC) reports on experiences of different stages of refractory casting in the secondary reformer of an ammonia plant, located in Kermanshah province of Iran (KPIC – Phase II). The pouring operation was carried out in three stages and each section was cast nonstop for a period of three days in total.

Venkat Pattabathula, a member of the AIChE Ammonia Safety Committee, reports on the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ Safety in Ammonia Plants and Related Facilities Symposium, held at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago, USA, on 11-15 September 2022.

Seshu Dharmavaram of Air Products and Venkat Pattabathula of SVP Chemical Plant Services describe the Dakar ammonia accident, which occurred in Senegal on March 24th, 1992. It is claimed to be the worst industrial ammonia accident ever, leaving 129 dead and 1,150 injured.

Leaks in the high-pressure synthesis section of a urea plant may lead to catastrophic consequences. UreaKnowHow.com started to collect incidents in an incident database and in 2017 AmmoniaKnowHow.com and UreaKnowHow.com introduced FIORDA, the Fertilizer Industry Operational Risk Database, a global open source risk register for ammonia and urea plants.

Market Insight courtesy of Argus Media

As we near the end of the third quarter of 2022, the attention of the nitrogen industry is focused on the coming northern hemisphere winter, and the prospects for higher natural gas prices as temperatures fall and power and heating demands rise. Vladimir Putin has been stoking these worries to try and force a climbdown from European countries over the sanctions that followed his invasion of Ukraine, with the flow of gas through the Nordstream 1 pipeline across the Baltic Sea gradually dwindling over the summer and finally stopping altogether at the end of August due to “technical issues” – an explanation somewhat undermined by the subsequent statement from spokesman Dmitry Peskov that gas would flow again once sanctions were eased. This is a familiar enough tactic; Russia has used gas stoppages to pressure Ukraine and Europe several times over the past two decades.

Leaks in the high-pressure synthesis section of a urea plant can have catastrophic consequences. UreaKnowHow.com started to collect incidents in an incident database and in 2017 AmmoniaKnowHow.com and UreaKnowHow.com introduced FIORDA, the Fertilizer Industry Operational Risk Database, a global open source risk register for ammonia and urea plants.