Tel Aviv—Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry has set 2015 as the target date for closing down the Haifa Chemicals ammonia storage facility in Haifa. The ministry said that it has received 10 inquiries from foreign and local investors interested in building a plant to produce ammonia in southern Israel using natural gas from the country’s huge offshore reserves. In March, government officials reached an agreement for moving the ammonia storage facility used by the fertilizer manufacturer from its current location in Haifa to an alternative site. Haifa Chemicals also has a plant in Mishor Rotem in southern Israel, and currently imports ammonia via the port at Haifa. However, a team of experts recommended that the new facility produce the ammonia locally using the abundant natural gas that has been discovered off Israel’s Mediterranean coast in recent years.
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