Strait of Hormuz disruptions linked to the Iran war have choked off fertilizer shipments from the Middle East and pushed prices sharply higher, prompting a wave of emergency support and trade measures as governments try to shield farmers ahead of key planting seasons.
QatarEnergy has agreed a 15-year urea supply contract with Koch Fertilizer, covering up to 740,000 t/y of Qatari-origin product from July 2024 into the US and other export markets.
MAIRE has announced fresh awards and scope additions worth about €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion), including a new urea licensing package that reinforces its fertilizer technology pipeline.
Guyana has attracted a mix of Chinese, US, Indian, European and local engineering groups to bid for the Guyana Ammonia and Urea Plant (GAUP), a 300,000 t/y fertilizer project planned at Wales alongside the country’s gas‑to‑energy complex.
Brussels has put Europe’s gas‑exposed fertilizer industry at the centre of its new Fertilizer Action Plan, warning that high energy costs and plant closures threaten the region’s nitrogen capacity and long‑term food security.
In an ideal natural draft urea prilling tower, molten droplets fall, cool air rises, and prills solidify – but what happens when airflow at the tower base is disturbed? Small adjustments can have big consequences.
thyssenkrupp Uhde Fertilizer Technology) has developed a series of formaldehyde-free additives, UFT®Add, which keeps solid urea free-flowing during transport and storage, enabling compliant automotive grade urea production.
SABIC Agri-Nutrients Company says that it has received approval from the Saudi Ministry of Energy to allocate feedstock required for the construction of its seventh plant in Jubail Industrial City. The new facility will produce approximately 1.2 million t/a of ammonia and 2.6 million t/a of urea, increasing the company’s urea production capacity from 4.8 million t/a to 7.4 million t/a; a 54% increase. This is expected to strengthen its position as one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of nitrogen-based nutrients, in line with its 2040 growth strategy.
The start of May saw urea prices start to decline from the yearly highs seen in mid-April, as buyers from India, the US, and Europe stayed away from the markets. India is not expected to return with another tender before late May or early June at the earliest, after booking 2.5 million tonnes for shipment through mid-June, covering immediate requirements, and with domestic production having improved and stocks at a healthy level of over 7 million tonnes. In the US, earlier concerns over May shipments have eased, with net import figures not as low as initially feared, and even some re-export of cargoes to Latin America where higher prices can be earned. With the potential for China to return to export sales towards the end of May and start of June, there was at least a hope that the worst of the current price spike may be over.
• Short-term outlook: Ammonia benchmarks are expected to remain under upward pressure. The PAU turnaround removes a key supply source from an already tight SE Asian market.