PJSC PhosAgro, Moscow, has taken the decision to go ahead with the building of a new ammonia and urea production complex.
The new facility will have production capacity of 1 million mt/y of ammonia and up to 1 million mt/y of urea, with construction due to start next year, according to an Interfax report, citing PhosAgro CEO Andrey Guryev.
First product is expected at the end of 2025. The group puts the capital expenditure for the project at RUB120 billion (approximately $1.62 billion at current exchange rates).
The Russian fertilizer group confirmed in June that it was studying the construction of new complex for the production of ammonia and urea, and in August said it was nearing a final investment decision (GM June 4, p. 1; Aug. 13, p. 30).
It has been considering two sites for the new project – either at Cherepovets, some 600 km north of Moscow, or at Volkhov in Russia’s Leningrad region, where it already has existing production sites.
It is unclear which site the group has chosen, or if indeed a final site decision has been made. In a Nov. 19 statement publicizing the launch of a new sulfuric acid production unit at Cherepovets, Guryev was cited as saying only that the group “is considering” the construction of a new ammonia and urea complex in Cherepovets.”
PhosAgro on Nov. 19 held a commissioning ceremony for the new “SK-3300” sulfuric acid unit, as well as for the newly-reconstructed nearby Kryolite rail station.
The new sulfuric acid unit has production capacity of 3,300 mt/d, and according to PhosAgro, is the highest-capacity sulfuric acid production unit of its kind in Russia.
The completed work at the Kryolite rail station will allow PhosAgro to boost rail freight volumes for the Cherepovets site’s railway infrastructure by more than a third – up to 16.5 million mt/y, the group said. Trains can now bring apatite concentrate to the Kryolite rail station, where they will be reloaded with fertilizers produced at the Cherepovets site and railed to Russian ports.
“This brings the logistical capabilities of our Cherepovets complex to a whole new level,” said Guryev.