Plans for a major Australian fertilizer project seemingly took a step forward this week with the inking of three memorandums of understanding connected with the development. A little known Australian consortium that is reported to have the in-principle backing of a large Dubai water and energy company, ARJ Holding Group, is proposing a A$4.1 billion project that would frack gas in Western Australia’s Canning Basin 150 kilometers southeast of Broome, according to a report by Australia’s Financial Review.
The project’s developer, Derby Fertilisers and Petrochemical Complex (DFPC), on Jan. 20 announced non-binding memorandums of understanding with Danish catalysis company Haldor Topsøe for the design, and with little known Australian firm Theia Energy for the gas supply, according to the report. DFPC is also reported to have signed a memorandum with China’s Shanghai Electric for the construction of a 100 MW solar farm.
According to its website, DFPC is proposing to develop ammonia, urea, methanol, and complex fertilizer plants and a power station near Derby, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia’s sparsely populated northern region. Proposed production capacities include 3,500 mt/d of ammonia, 5,000 mt/d of methanol, and 4,000 mt/d of urea under phase 1 plans. A second phase utilizing domestic supplies of phosphate rock is proposed for a plant with capacity to produce 350,000 mt/y of complex fertilizers and 375,000 mt/y of MAP/DAP.
The ambitious proposal would be dependent on a gas supplier that has not yet established certified reserves for the project, and which would have to overcome multiple environmental, heritage, and planning approvals to drill wells and process and pipe the gas over about 450,000 hectares of the Canning Basin, according to the report.
Theia Energy has a prospective resource of 3-5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in the 450,000 hectares covered by its exploration license, but the report, citing Theia’s COO Jop van Hattum, said the energy company would not be able to estimate certified reserves until the project received a final investment decision, due in about two years.