Ammonia

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Industrial gas firm Messer announced it has entered into a long-term renewal of a carbon dioxide (CO2) purchase and sale agreement with US fertilizer producer LSB Industries. As part of the agreement, Messer said it will subsequently commit more than $9 million into the liquid CO2 plant at LSB’s Cherokee, Alabama, facility with a focus of this investment on the continued safe and reliable operations at the site. The plant manufactures fertilizers including ammonia, urea and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) and it also makes industrial and mining offerings including ammonium nitrate (AN) solutions and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). Messer said this deal will help increase security of its CO2 supply and provide continuity to customers for decades to come. “The efficiency upgrades for the plant modernization effort will add more molecules to our network and reduce CO2 emissions at the site in-line with our sustainability goals,” said Chris Ebeling, Messer executive vice president, sales & marketing, North America.

09-Sep-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Fertilizer Canada said disruptions to rail services across the country will cost the fertilizer industry an estimated C$55-63 ($40.3-46.2) million per day in lost sales revenue. Facing a potential strike, the industry group is urgently calling on the federal government to take immediate action to prevent a work stoppage on both railways. It wants to see binding arbitration that prohibits Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) from undertaking strike action and CN Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) from lockout action. Both railways have served lockout notices to TCRC beginning 22 August and TCRC has served a strike notice to CPKC also beginning 22 August. “The time for action is now. We can no longer patiently wait for a resolution. The federal government must protect Canada’s economy and food security by ordering binding arbitration,” said Karen Proud, Fertilizer Canada president and CEO. The group noted that the railways move an average of 69,000 tonnes of fertilizer product per day, which is equivalent to four to five trains. The fertilizer industry is among the first to experience slowdowns. As on 12 August, the movement of some ammonia products were halted when they were embargoed. Since that action the railways have issued further embargoes, including US railways halting shipments to Canada. Currently 75% of all fertilizer produced and used in Canada is moved by rail, with minimal transportation alternatives, with 90% of those volumes which are destined for the US market delivered by rail. “In the last seven years, Canadian supply chain labour disruptions have cost the fertilizer industry nearly a billion dollars,” Proud said. “These stoppages are doing immense damage to our reputation as a reliable trading partner.” “Our customers, who rely on Canadian fertilizer products, are being forced to turn to our competitors in Russia, Belarus and China. We can’t afford for our railways to shut down, and we can’t afford a passive approach to our supply chains any longer. We need long-term solutions.” Fertilizer Canada represents producers, manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors of nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur fertilizers. $1.00=C1.36

20-Aug-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Industry group Fertilizer Canada has requested federal authorities take action as CN Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City have issued embargoes immediately halting certain fertilizer shipments ahead of an anticipated labor strike. Fertilizer Canada is calling on the federal government and Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to assist all parties and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), in reaching agreements. Further, it is asking that there be a directive for binding arbitration that prohibits TCRC from undertaking strike action and the railroads from lockout action. The railroads have said they could lock out workers on 22 August if union leadership and the companies are unable to achieve immediate progress or reach a negotiated settlement or agree upon binding arbitration. Fertilizer Canada said that embargoes issued 12 August impact essential ammonia fertilizer products. In addition, service for all products will also begin to slow three to five days ahead of a work stoppage and take between three to five days to reach regular service upon conclusion. The group said the threat has already begun to impact fertilizer movement and the industry anticipates further slowdowns. It noted that a work stoppage which halts nutrient transportation will potentially have disastrous effects on crop yields and food security. It further stated that according to recent polling that 55% of Canadians believe the government has a role to play in the collective bargaining process and should step in to prevent impacts. “The long-lasting and cascading impacts of labor disruptions are felt before and after the stoppage even takes place,” says Karen Proud, Fertilizer Canada president and CEO. “We have had the threat of a work stoppage hanging over our heads since the beginning of the year. Farmers around the world rely on Canada’s fertilizer industry to maximize crop yields, and the fertilizer industry relies on rail to get our products to market.” The group is urging the federal government to amend the labor code to strengthen the bargaining process and also recognize fertilizer as an essential good critical to food security that should continue to move during work stoppages. “Canada’s reputation has been damaged by the numerous supply chain disruptions in recent history,” Proud said. “This uncertainty gives our international competitors like Russia and China an advantage. We need swift action to protect Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.” 75% of all fertilizer produced and used in Canada are moved by rail with limited alternatives to rail. Not only does this supply support to Canadian farmers, but US and international growers also rely on this flow of fertilizer. Fertilizer Canada represents producers, manufacturers, wholesale and retail distributors of nitrogen, phosphate, potash and sulphur fertilizers.

13-Aug-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Navigator Holdings, the largest fleet owner of handysize liquefied gas carriers, announced it is undertaking a co-investment with Attis Clean Energy into Ten08 Energy, which is creating a production export facility in Texas. Revealed this past May, clean ammonia developer Ten08 is planning an industrial-scale hybrid blue and green ammonia production export facility to be located on the Texas Gulf Coast. The goal is to produce the most competitively priced ammonia molecule to help decarbonize the power, shipping, fertilizer and chemicals industries. The first phase, comprising 1.4 million tonnes/year of ultra-low carbon ammonia production, is expected to commence operations in late 2029 or early 2030. Navigator said its financial commitment is currently $2.5 million and complements the development capital from lead investor Attis who made its initial investment to fund development until a final investment decision is concluded. The company also received an option to make a larger investment once the investment decision is made of up to $100 million of preferred equity towards construction of the terminal and export infrastructure of the project, with potential further investments in subsequent expansions. The parties intend to offer an integrated service of US-based clean ammonia production combined with international seaborne transportation of the ammonia on ammonia-powered gas carriers to customers in Europe and Asia. “This investment is yet another example of our commitment to growth through energy infrastructure projects and meaningfully supports our existing ammonia shipping business,” said Navigator Holdings CEO Mads Peter Zacho. “Clean ammonia is crucial to the success of the energy transition for both power generation and carbon free shipping, and the Ten08 project will play a critical role in further developing the clean ammonia industry.”

08-Aug-2024

LONDON (ICIS)–India’s Hygenco Green Energies has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Mitsubishi Power to explore delivering green hydrogen and ammonia-fired gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power plants. The agreement includes supplying green fuel for Mitsubishi Power's GTCC technology and developing commercially viable green hydrogen and ammonia production assets on a ‘build-own-operate’ or ‘gas-as-a-service’ basis. "We are excited to leverage our expertise in green hydrogen and ammonia to support the decarbonization of power generation and contribute to a sustainable energy future, " said Hygenco CEO Amit Bansal. The partnership, backed by financial support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), will provide its integrated solutions in India and globally, Hygenco added in a statement.

08-Aug-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–CF Industries said in its latest nitrogen fertilizer market outlook that in the near-term it expects the global supply-demand balance to remain constructive, led by nitrogen import requirements through year-end for Brazil and India. The producer also anticipates there will be continued wide energy spreads between North America and high-cost production in Europe. The fertilizer producer said from the end of the second quarter of 2024 into the third quarter of this year this segment of fertilizers has faced challenges which include gas curtailments in Egypt and Trinidad, along with scheduled outages and a lack of substantial urea export availability from China. These factors the producer said have actually been beneficial for supporting global nitrogen pricing during a period of year that typically sees lower prices and low global shipments as demand shifts from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere. “Over the medium-term, significant energy cost differentials between North American producers and high-cost producers in Europe and Asia are expected to persist. As a result, the Company believes the global nitrogen cost curve will remain supportive of strong margin opportunities for low-cost North American producers,” said CF Industries. “Longer-term, management expects the global nitrogen supply-demand balance to tighten as global nitrogen capacity growth over the next four years is not projected to keep pace with expected global nitrogen demand growth of approximately 1.5% per year for traditional applications and new demand growth for clean energy applications.” It further said that global production is expected to remain constrained by the ongoing challenges related to cost and availability of natural gas. Looking specifically at North America the producer said it believes nitrogen channel inventories in the region for all products are below average based on strong demand for urea and UAN during the spring application season and higher-than-expected planted corn acres. CF added that reported UAN and ammonia fill programs achieved prices above 2023 levels despite softening farm economics in the region as corn and soybean prices have fallen due to higher forecasted production in 2024 in the US and Brazil. For Brazil urea consumption is forecasted to increase 3% year over year to more than 8 million tonnes, supported by improved supply availability and lower global urea prices. Urea imports to Brazil in 2024 are expected to be in the range of 7 million to 8 million tonnes as domestic production remains limited. Regarding India CF said the country is expected to be active importing urea through the second half as the country secured lower-than-expected volumes in its two most recent tenders. In addition, urea consumption is expected to rise to support rice, wheat and other crop sowings. Currently CF expects urea imports to India in 2024, including volumes supplied on a contractual basis, to be in a range of 5 million to 6 million tonnes as there are recently revitalized plants and new facilities operating at higher rates. For Europe, the producer said there was approximately 25% of ammonia and 30% of urea capacity reported in shutdown or curtailment mode in early July. CF said because of this situation it anticipates ammonia operating rates and overall domestic nitrogen product output in Europe will remain below historical averages over the long-term, especially given the region’s status as the global marginal producer. As a result, the company does expect imports of ammonia and upgraded products to the region to be higher than historical averages. Looking at China, CF said the ongoing urea export policy continues to cause limited urea export availability from the country. For the first six months of 2024, China exported 140,000 tonnes of urea, which is 86% lower year-on-year. For Russia, the producer said their view is that urea exports will increase this year due to the start-up of new urea granulation capacity and the willingness of certain countries to purchase those volumes, including the US and Brazil, Russian ammonia exports are projected to rise with the completion of the country’s Taman ammonia terminal in the second half, though annual ammonia export volumes are projected to remain below pre-war levels.

07-Aug-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–OCI said after facing difficult fertilizer market conditions in 2023 it is having a much better performance through Q2 of this year. The producer said they continue to see progress in efficiency gains as it remains focused on its global decarbonization strategy. In addition, over the past quarter OCI said it has taken significant steps towards advancing its strategic aims, which include accelerating expansion plans fueled by green methanol adoption and further diversification their European nitrates portfolio. “Following extremely challenging market conditions in 2023, conflated with prolonged turnarounds at some of OCI’s assets, OCI benefited in the second quarter of 2024 from sustained improved asset reliability across the business,” said Ahmed El-Hoshy, OCI Global CEO. “OCI’s manufacturing excellence program and investments to improve reliability continue to drive productivity gains, with asset utilization rates surpassing historical levels across both the nitrogen and methanol complex.” The producer said OCI Beaumont achieved a 96% rate through Q2, while OCI Nitrogen saw both ammonia lines running at approximately 90% level during the quarter. “The OCI team continues to do an outstanding job driving forward our operational excellence program, focused on reliability and process safety fundamentals,” El-Hoshy said. The producer also said their Texas Blue Clean Ammonia facility in Beaumont is on track to commence production in 2025.

02-Aug-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)—Chemical company Clariant Catalysts has announced the expansion of its strategic cooperation with global engineering firm KBR regarding ammonia production. Clariant said the partners will continue collaborating on traditional ammonia projects while significantly increasing their focus on low-carbon and carbon-free green ammonia applications. It further said the solutions will combine Clariant’s outstanding AmoMax ammonia synthesis catalysts with KBR’s K-GreeN ammonia technologies to maximize the economics and energy efficiency of ammonia production. For the production of carbon-free green ammonia, KBR’s technology is combined with Clariant’s catalyst to convert green hydrogen with nitrogen from an air separation unit. Clariant said the partners’ complete green ammonia solution has already been selected for 10 prestigious green ammonia projects around the world. “We are proud of our long and successful history as partners and are delighted to strengthen our cooperation with KBR. By extending our collaboration towards sustainable ammonia solutions, we generate synergies for innovations supporting fertilizer production and the energy transition,” said Georg Anfang, Clariant Catalysts, vice president syngas and fuels. “Our state-of-the-art catalysts optimally complement KBR’s advanced process technologies to enable economical and reliable large-scale production of low-carbon and green ammonia.” KBR has licensed and designed over 250 grassroot ammonia plants worldwide with Clariant providing catalysts best suited for the optimum performance of KBR-licensed ammonia plants.

30-Jul-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Although net income and sales fell year on year, US fertilizer producer CVR said it had a solid result for Q2 2024, which was driven in part by a combined ammonia production rate of 102%. The producer of ammonia and urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) announced during the period it had a net income of $26 million and net sales of $133 million for Q2 compared to net income of $60 million and net sales of $183 million for the second quarter of 2023. CVR said its facilities remained consistent compared to this quarter in 2023 as they produced 221,000 short tons of ammonia, of which 69,000 net tons were available for sale. The remaining balance was upgraded to other products, including 337,000 short tons of urea ammonia nitrate (UAN). In Q2 2023, those levels were at 219,000 tons of ammonia, with 70,000 net tons available to sale with the remainder upgraded, including 339,000 short tons of UAN. The average realized gate prices for UAN has also decreased with it down by 15% to $268/short ton, while ammonia dropped 26% to $520/short ton year-on-year. During this period in 2023 the average realized gate prices for UAN and ammonia were at $316/short ton and $707/short ton respectively. “CVR Partners reported solid operating results for the second quarter of 2024 driven by safe, reliable operations and a combined ammonia production rate of 102%,” said Mark Pytosh, CVR Partners CEO. “The spring planting season experienced some weather interruptions, however, planted acreage was higher than expected and demand for nitrogen fertilizer was strong.” Pytosh added that they expect to see good demand for nitrogen fertilizer remaining throughout 2024 even with prices being higher than experienced in 2023. “Our focus for the remainder of the year will continue to be on safe, reliable operations and maximizing our free cash flow generation,” Pytosh said.

30-Jul-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–US fertilizer producer CF Industries announced that it is moving forward with a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project at its Yazoo City, Mississippi complex that is expected to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted to the atmosphere from the facility by up to 500,000 tonnes annually. As part of the project the company has signed a definitive commercial agreement with ExxonMobil for the transport and sequestration in permanent geologic storage of the CO2 with sequestration expected to start in 2028. The producer is going to spend approximately $100 million at Yazoo City to build a CO2 dehydration and compression unit to enable CO2 to be generated as a byproduct of ammonia production and subsequently be captured to be transported and stored. Once sequestration by ExxonMobil has commenced, CF said expects the project to qualify for tax credits which provides a credit per metric ton of CO2 sequestered. “We are pleased to advance another significant decarbonization project that will keep CF Industries at the forefront of low-carbon ammonia production while also helping us achieve our 2030 emissions intensity reduction goal,” said Tony Will, CF Industries Holdings president and CEO. “This decarbonization project also will increase the availability of nitrogen products with a lower-carbon intensity for customers focused on reducing the carbon footprint of their businesses.” The producer added that once sequestration starts, the Yazoo City complex will be able to manufacture products with a substantially lower carbon intensity than conventional ammonia production sites. Most of the ammonia produced at the Yazoo City Complex is upgraded into nitrogen fertilizers such as urea ammonium nitrate solution (UAN) and ammonium nitrate (AN) or upgraded into diesel exhaust fluid. AN produced at Yazoo City is used as fertilizer and by the mining industry as a component of explosives. CF said demand for these products with lower carbon intensity is expected to increase significantly as agriculture and mining industries work to lower emissions in their supply chains.

25-Jul-2024