OCI, ADNOC seal alliance, launch nitrogen fertilizer joint venture Fertiglobe

LONDON (ICIS)–Dutch chemicals and fertilizers major OCI and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on Monday completed the final step in the creation of a new nitrogen fertilizer joint venture called Fertiglobe.

The partnership combines ADNOC’s fertilizer business into OCI’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) nitrogen fertilizer platform, with the new firm headquartered in Abu Dhabi.

Scheduled to launch on 1 October, Fertiglobe “will be the largest export-focused nitrogen fertilizer platform globally, and the largest producer in the MENA region with a production capacity of 5m tonnes/year of urea and 1.5m tonnes/year of merchant ammonia,” the companies said.

With more than $1.7bn of annual revenues, based on 2018 pro forma figures, OCI will fully consolidate the combined business, the two firms said.

OCI will own a 58% stake in the joint venture, while ADNOC will own the remaining 42% stake.

“Fertiglobe […] is underpinned by a young asset base and a robust storage and distribution infrastructure with access to key ports on the Mediterranean, Red Sea and Arabian Gulf,” the firms said.

The transaction places producers Egypt Basic Industries Corporation (EBIC), Egyptian Fertilizers Company (EFC), Sorfert, and Fertil (formerly ADNOC Fertilizers) under the ownership of Fertiglobe.