Moscow-Russian fertilizer producer EuroChem Mineral and Chemical Company, along with a Russian delegation led by the governor of the Volgograd Region, met with the president and first vice prime minister of Belarus on Nov. 20 to discuss the development of potash deposits in the Volgograd Region. A total investment in excess of $1 billion is planned for the project over the next 5-6 years, with EuroChem working in cooperation with the Belarus Potash Company. An agreement was signed Nov. 22 in which EuroChem committed to perform environmentally safe drilling operations at the Gremyachinskoye potash deposit to determine reserves, and to secure employment and beneficial working conditions at the operation for Volgograd citizens. In return, the Volgograd government agreed to establish conditions for the “sustainable development of material and technical base of EuroChem and its regional subsidiary, and assist in the promotion of their efficiency growth.” The joint effort is viewed with considerable interest following the loss to flooding of the Uralkali potash mine earlier this fall. Other collaborative efforts between EuroChem and major Belarus enterprises such as Grodno Azot and Gornel Chemical Factory may look at opportunities in phosphate and nitrogen production as well. In other news, EuroChem on Dec. 6 opened its first Estonian business unit, a tanker loading facility called TankChem, at the port of Sillamae, Estonia. EuroChem said TankChem is the first terminal in northeastern Estonia for petrochemical products handling, adding that it represents a strategic location near the Estonia/Russian border and the EU/Russian border. In addition, the terminal is linked to the Tallinn-St. Petersburg rail line, which will facilitate chemical loading from railcars to tankers for export to Europe and South America. EuroChem said throughput at the facility reached 15,000 mt per month in September, with a 30-40 percent increase in handling capacity planned for the future.
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