Tel Aviv — Israel’s Industry and Trade Ministry has issued a request for information from Israeli and international companies on setting up an ammonia plant in southern Israel. The request is part of an effort by the ministry to speed up the removal of the Haifa Chemicals ammonia storage facility in Haifa. The request notes that the proposed plant would use natural gas from Israeli offshore fields. The ministry is looking to shut down an existing storage facility for imports as soon as possible, and has asked for information from interested parties to establish a production plant based on local natural gas supplies. Israeli demand for ammonia is 120,000 mt/y, and more than 90 percent goes to the local fertilizer industry. Israel currently imports all of its ammonia needs. Earlier this month, the country’s Industry and Trade and Environmental Protection Ministers agreed to move the current ammonia storage facility from its location in Haifa to the south. The facility is owned and operated by Haifa Chemicals, and is located in the Haifa Bay industrial zone in close proximity to population centers. The existing facility stores 12,000 mt, and there has been strong opposition to its location in a metropolitan area from environmental groups and the Haifa Municipality. There has been a growing movement supporting the closure of the facility, and the municipality actually went to court to get it moved. A Haifa court put off a decision on the matter until May. Environmental and security experts warned in recent years of the potential hazards of the facility to the nearby civilian population. A commission appointed in 2006 recommended improving the protection of the facility and the banning of the entry of vessels transporting ammonia into Haifa port during war time. In 2010 a team of experts from government ministries and private consulting firms studied various alternatives and found that the facility was well protected by international standards, but was located closer to population centers than is customary The team recommended that an ammonia production plant be set up that would supply the needs of the local fertilizer and other industries. Officials at the Environmental Protection and Industry and Trade Ministries said that the determining factor was the fear of missile attacks in the Haifa region, and that was the main reason for the decision to shut the facility down and find an alternative location. Late last year Ratio Oil Exploration said it was considering building an ammonia plant in the northern Negev region that would use natural gas from the huge offshore discoveries. Ratio is a partner in the Leviathan offshore field, which was discovered in December 2010. The field has estimated reserves of 20 trillion cubic feet. The cost of the plant is put at $500 million and would be able to meet all domestic needs and export as well.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain