Section: CRUNS Industry News

CIMC Enric Holdings Ltd says that it has commissioned China’s first large-scale biomethanol facility in Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, marking a major step forward in the decarbonisation of global shipping and clean fuel supply chains. The project, developed by CIMC Enric and its subsidiaries, is designed as a fully integrated closed-loop system converting forestry residues into green methanol for use as marine fuel. With an initial annual capacity of 50,000 t/a, it is the country’s first commercial scale green methanol plant, and is backed by the port of Zhanjiang and abundant local forestry wastes.

Acron’s fertilizer complex at Veliky Novgorod was reported to be on fire following a Ukrainian drone strike on December 10th. At least five explosions were reported at the facility, according to Ukrainian media. Novgorod Governor Alexander Dronov confirmed the attack and said the air defence system intercepted 19 drones over the region. Earlier, on December 4, Ukrainian drones struck the Nevinnomyssk Azot plant in Russia’s Stavropol region, a major facility that produces over 1 million t/a of ammonia and 1.4 million t/a of ammonium nitrate annually.

Air Products and Yara International ASA say that they are working to combine Air Products’ industrial gas capabilities and low-emission hydrogen production with Yara’s ammonia production and distribution network, with several major projects under development.

NextChem has also announced that its nitrogen technology licensing division Stamicarbon, has been a licensing contract and the project development process for a new nitric acid plant in China. The project entails the application of Stamicarbon’s state-of-the-art mono-pressure technology, part of NX STAMI™ Nitrates series, which uses oxygen instead of air as feed for the process, enabling high energy recovery and low operational costs. NextChem says that the award builds on the Group’s longstanding expertise in nitrogen technologies and reflects its commitment to industrialising efficient, low-emission solutions for the agricultural supply chains.

KBR has been awarded a technology and engineering contract by IGNIS for a new green ammonia facility in A Coruña, Spain. Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide proprietary engineering design and pre-FEED engineering services for a 200,000 t/a green ammonia plant. The facility will use renewable energy to produce green hydrogen, which will be converted to green ammonia.

ClassNK has issued approval in principle for a concept design of the Multiple Alternative Fuels Ready (ammonia/methanol/ LNG) bulk carrier developed by Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. The certification confirms the feasibility of the vessel from regulatory and safety perspectives. ClassNK has published Annex 1 Alternative Fuel Ready of the Guidelines for Ships Using Alternative Fuels, which summarises the requirements for adding class notations to ships that do not use alternative fuels at the time of construction but are designed and partially equipped to accommodate such fuels in the future.

Woodside Energy says that its Beaumont New Ammonia (BNA) facility in southeast Texas has begun production of ammonia following the completion of systems testing, representing the first phase of operations commissioning of the facility. Commercial production of ammonia from BNA is expected to begin following the handover to Woodside Energy from OCI Global in early 2026. Production of lower-carbon ‘blue’ ammonia is targeted to start in the second half of 2026. Woodside says it has also finalised agreements with leading global customers to supply significant volumes of conventional ammonia from the BNA facility. Deliveries will commence in 2026 and continue through year-end, under contracts that reflect prevailing market prices. Additional agreements are being advanced to align with expected BNA output, including for lower-carbon ammonia.

Nutrien says that it underwent “a controlled shut down” of its Trinidad Nitrogen operations at the Point Lisas’ facility from October 23rd, 2025. The company said that the shutdown was in response to port access restrictions imposed by Trinidad and Tobago’s National Energy Corporation (NEC) and “a lack of reliable and economic natural gas supply that has reduced the free cash flow contribution of the Trinidad Nitrogen operations over an extended period of time”. Nutrien says that it will continue to engage with stakeholders and assess options with respect to its operations in Trinidad. Ammonia and urea sales volumes from Nutrien’s Trinidad operations were approximately 85,000 tonnes per month and 55,000 tonnes per month, respectively. Nutrien expects to be within its 2025 annual nitrogen sales volume guidance range of 10.7 to 11.2 million tonnes due to the continued strong performance of its North American Nitrogen operations.

The Jordan Free and Development Zones Group (JFDZ) says that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nitrogen Jordan for Fertilisers to develop a gas-based ammonia plant within the Kingdom. Under the MoU, an area of around 200 hectares within the Al Karameh Free Zone on the Jordanian-Iraqi border will be allocated for the establishment of an ammonia production plant. The announcement follows positive developments at the Jordanian Risha Gas Project, located near the Iraqi border and major Jordanian crossings, approximately 30 kilometres from Al Karameh Free Zone, according to a JFDZ statement.

NextChem has signed a binding agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Ballestra Group, a global leader in the licensing, design and engineering of processing plants, as well as the supply of proprietary technologies and equipment for the chemical industry. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Milan, Ballestra is the holding of a group of companies comprising BUSS ChemTech AG (Switzerland) and Ballestra Engineering and Projects Pvt. Ltd (India). It operates in over 120 countries with approximately 450 employees and offices in Europe and Asia. NextChem says that the acquisition will bring intellectual property, advanced proprietary technologies and distinctive engineering competences to its value proposition in specialty chemicals, including fluorine derivatives for lithium-ion batteries and for the metals and mining industries. This acquisition will also create cross-selling opportunities with Tecnimont, Maire Group’s integrated engineering and construction services business unit, in relation to energy transition and material transformation projects. The enterprise value is €108.3 million, resulting in a purchase price of approximately €126.5 million, subject to adjustments at closing, which is expected in the first half of 2026.