OCI Global on Aug. 5 announced that it has entered a binding equity purchase agreement for the sale of 100% of its stake in the low-carbon ammonia project under construction in Beaumont, Texas, to Woodside Energy Group Ltd., a global energy company based in Australia, for $2.35 billion.
OCI will continue to oversee the construction and operationalization of the 1.1 million mt/y blue ammonia plant. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the second half of 2024.
The Beaumont plant is the world’s first large-scale, low-carbon intensity hydrogen-based greenfield ammonia facility, which began engineering in late 2021, construction in December 2022, and is expected to produce the first blue ammonia in 2025. In its first phase, the project will result in the capture and sequestration of 1.7 million mt/y of CO2.
“This pioneering investment will contribute to the global availability of low-carbon intensity ammonia, with significant potential to reduce carbon emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, including existing markets in fertilizer and industrial sectors, as well as in new applications in power and shipping,” said OCI Chairman Nassef Sawiris.
“We are confident that in Woodside we have found the rightful custodian for this landmark asset and its talented employees,” Sawiris continued. “Under Woodside’s leadership, OCI Clean Ammonia will play a vital role in the global energy transition, delivering new energy products and lower carbon services to reduce Woodside’s customers’ emissions globally.”
The sale of the Beaumont facility is the third major transaction announced by OCI since December, when it reported the sale of Iowa Fertilizer Co. to Koch Ag & Energy Solutions LLC (GM Dec. 22, 2023) and the sale of its stake in Abu Dhabi-based Fertiglobe Plc to UAE state-owned oil giant ADNOC (GM Dec. 15, 2023).