In mid-April, Ammonia prices both east and west of Suez remained firmly oriented to the downside, with supply still heavily outweighing demand and suppliers scrambling to place excess tonnage. Bearish market sentiment was exemplified by a Trammo sale to OCP at $415/t c.fr Morocco, $20/t short of Tampa’s c.fr settlement for April and around $44/t down on February.
NextChem subsidiary KT Tech has been awarded a licensing contract for the implementation of NextChem’s proprietary NX AdWinMethanol® Zero technology for Pacifico Mexinol, an ultra-low carbon methanol facility near Los Mochis, Sinaloa, on the Pacific coast of Mexico, which will have a planned output in excess of 2.1 million t/a. Transition Industries LLC, based in Houston, Texas, is developing Pacifico Mexinol with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. When it initiates operation in 2028, Pacifico Mexinol is expected to be the largest single ultra-low carbon methanol facility in the world – producing approximately 350,000 t/a of green methanol and 1.8 million t/a of blue methanol annually from natural gas with carbon capture.The value of the licensing award is in the low tens of million euros, with the whole package estimated to be about e250 million, including basic engineering, proprietary and critical equipment supply, as well as assistance to commissioning, start-up and operation of the facility.
thyssenkrupp Uhde has signed a 5-year framework service agreement with Brunei Fertilizer Industries, aimed at advancing digitalisation and implementing clean technologies in the fertilizer industry. Central to these efforts is the set-up and implementation of a digital twin, which will provide a virtual representation of the plant to enable real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision-making. This technology, together with specialized trainings, will allow BFI to enhance operational safety, reduce downtime, and achieve greater energy efficiency.
Urea markets are well supplied at present in spite of Chinese export restrictions, but face volatility due to a number of trade barriers and other non-market pressures.
Clariant says that its MegaMax 900 methanol synthesis catalyst has been used in the successful startup of European Energy’s green methanol plant at Kasso, Denmark. The facility uses biogenic CO2 and green hydrogen to produce up to 42,000 t/a of green methanol. Clariant’s Applied Catalyst Technology (ACT) technical service team provided on-site support throughout the startup procedure, overseeing the catalyst loading, reduction, and startup. Clariant says that the catalyst is operating with excellent activity and stability despite the challenging conditions of CO2 -to-methanol conversion.
Alfa Laval says that its ammonia fuel supply system, FCM Ammonia, will be installed in seven LPG/ammonia carriers for Tianjin Southwest Maritime (TSM). The installation will commence with three 25,000m3 vessels, followed by four 41,000m3 vessels. The first FCM Ammonia unit for TSM is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2025. The contract follows extensive testing and development conducted in close collaboration with Swiss engine designer WinGD at its Engine & Research Innovation Centre (ERIC) in Winterthur, Switzerland. Alfa Laval says that the research and development project with WinGD has laid a strong foundation for FCM Ammonia’s commercial adoption, as evidenced by K Shipbuilding receiving approval in principle in December 2024 dfrom the American Bureau of Shipping for the design of an ammonia dual-fuel MR1 tanker. Alfa Laval contributed to the design of the entire fuel system, including the ammonia fuel supply system, fuel valves train, and vent treatment system, as well as an Aalborg ammonia dual-fuel boiler system.
Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) says that the world’s first commercial-use ammonia-fuelled vessel, Sakigake, has successfully completed a three-month demonstration voyage, during which the vessel engaged in tugboat operations in Tokyo Bay, while achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions of up to 95%. The vessel was completed by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and IHI Power Systems in August 2024, in cooperation with Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) as part of a Green Innovation Fund Project. NEDO says that the vessel will continue to be used for tugboat operations in Tokyo Bay, and the organisation will continue to promote research and development of next-generation fuel vessels, including developing an ammonia-fuelled ammonia gas carrier, in conjunction with NYK, Japan Engine Corporation, IPS, and Nippon Shipyard. This vessel is scheduled to be delivered in November 2026.
Energy company Mabanaft and HIF Global have signed a heads of agreement for the offtake of e-methanol from, HIF’s planned e-Fuels facilities, reinforcing their commitment to advancing carbon-reducing fuels for the shipping industry. The initial offtake would be of up to 100,000 t/a of e-methanol produced from renewable electricity and captured CO2 per year. As HIF Global moves forward with the development of its e-Fuels facilities, Mabanaft says that it will further explore demand for different methanol applications jointly with its customers.
Global gas demand has returned to growth after the supply shock of 2022-23, but geopolitical tensions and short supply in LNG markets.
The European Commission (EC) says it has begun tracking European imports of certain ethylene and ammonia products, to allow it to react quickly to level the playing field if the monitoring points to a surge of imports causing or threatening to cause injury to the EU industry. This surveillance has been put in place in response to evidence of a significant and potentially injurious increase in the EU market share of imports of the chemicals. It covers imports of copolymers of ethylene and alpha olefin, urea containing more than 45% (by weight) of nitrogen, and ammonium sulphate from all countries, and should remain in place for a period of three years.