Ukrainian fertilizer producer OPZ yet to select winner of gas tolling tender

LONDON (ICIS)–Ukraine’s Odessa Port Plant (OPZ) will advance talks with three companies seeking to win its gas tolling tender after the trio met all the necessary conditions during an electronic auction on Thursday.

The state-owned ammonia and urea manufacturer will award the 10-month tender to one of IBE Trade Corp, Maddox SA or current supplier Agro Gas Trading (AGT), in the next month.

On 30 June, OPZ extended its gas tolling arrangement with AGT by two months, allowing its plants on the shore of the Black Sea to run during July and August.

The pair’s existing deal expired on that date, but the short-term contract was agreed as the manufacturer does not expect to award the tender until mid-August.

Maddox SA is a privately-owned, Geneva-based company trading physical oil and oil-related financial derivatives.

IBE Trade Corp is a New York-headquartered producer and trader of chemical fertilizers with an established office at Yuzhny – the port adjacent to Odessa where large volumes of Russian and Ukrainian ammonia and urea are loaded for export each month.

AGT, which has supplied OPZ with natural gas feedstock since last July, describes itself as a “flagship” of the Ukrainian energy industry.

“All three participants in the electronic auction [made] offers that equally meet the criteria of the most attractive offer in accordance with […] the procedure,” OPZ said in a statement not available in English.

“In this regard, the board […] decided not to determine the winner based on the results of the second stage of selection – electronic auction – and hold the third stage of selection – negotiations.”

Ukrainian ammonia and urea producer OPZ is a key cog in the regional nitrogen fertilizer supply chain. Photo courtesy of OPZ