EuroChem new ammonia, urea plant to start up in 2024

LONDON (ICIS)–Fertilizers major EuroChem agreed this week financing for the construction of a new ammonia and urea plant in northwest Russia, with capital expenditure (capex) at $1.6bn.

Expected to start up in 2024, the plant will produce up to 1.1m tonnes/year of ammonia and 1.4m tonnes/year of urea.

The North-West-2 facility will be built at an existing fertilizers complex operated by EuroChem in Kingisepp

The project was previously expected for 2023.

Switzerland-headquartered EuroChem signed the loans for the project with VEB.RF, Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, and Otkritie at this week’s St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

“This is the first time that EuroChem is implementing such a project with Russian banks, and for the first time a debt-to-equity ratio of 80:20 has been achieved,” said Vladimir Rashevsky, general director at EuroChem’s subsidiary in Russia.

Output from the 2019-commissioned 1m tonne/year EuroChem North-West-1 ammonia plant is consumed by the group’s operations in Belgium, Lithuania, and its adjacent phosphate fertilizer facility at Kingisepp.

Norwegian fertilizer major Yara also lifts volume from the Estonia port of Sillamae each month as part of an offtake arrangement.

It is unclear if the new ammonia plant will have any surplus volume for sale, or if it will all be consumed by the adjacent urea unit and other operations at Kingisepp.