Acron Group, Moscow, reported its group’s total commercial output for full-year 2021 increased by 6 percent over the previous year, reaching 8.49 million mt, up from 7.98 million mt.
The group’s mineral fertilizer output grew 5 percent to 6.77 million mt, up from the previous year’s 6.45 million mt.
Ammonia output increased 7 percent to 2.91 million mt, versus the prior year’s 2.73 million mt, while the volume of ammonia processed through to end products grew to 98 percent from 96 percent.
The group said it produced a record 1.6 million mt of urea in 2021, with production boosted by the completion of the Urea-6+ project at the Veliky Novgorod site in northwest Russia last August (GM Aug. 13, 2021).The project increased the Urea-6 plant’s production capacity to 730,000 mt/y from 210,000 mt/y previously, and has taken the group’s total urea production capacity to 1.975 million mt/y, making Acron Group the largest urea producer in Europe, according to the Russian producer.
Output of agricultural-grade urea in 2021 rose by 24 percent to 1.46 million mt. After starting granular urea production in May 2020 (GM May 22, 2020), granular urea output doubled in 2021 to 529,000 mt from 261,000 mt in 2020.
But Acron Group saw an 8 percent dip in output of agricultural-grade ammonium nitrate (AN) to 2.24 million mt, down from the year-ago 2.43 million mt.
The group reported that output of industrial-grade urea and industrial-grade AN increased 40 percent in 2021 compared with the previous year, to 640,000 mt. Acron attributed this increase to its success at promoting these industrial-grade products in international markets.
UAN output was up 24 percent year-over-year to 1.35 million mt from 1.1 million mt, with the group citing the better price environment.
Production of complex fertilizers increased 11 percent in 2021 to 2.63 million mt, up from the year-ago 2.37 million mt. Acron Group attributed the increase to a more favourable price environment and increased production of apatite concentrate at the Oleniy Ruchey mine, where output was up 6 percent to 1.255 million mt.
Acron Group Chairman Alexander Popov said looking forward, the group wants to use the upward momentum of mineral fertilizer prices in 2021 and both accelerate ongoing investment projects and kick off new ones.
As previously reported, projects underway include upgrades to ammonia units 2 and 3 and urea units 1 through 4 at the Veliky Novgorod site in northwest Russia (GM Dec. 3; 2021; Aug.13, 2021). The completion of these projects is scheduled for 2023, and will boost ammonia capacity by 375,000 mt/y and urea capacity by 390,000 mt/y.
The group is also constructing a second urea granulation unit with 700,000 mt/y granulation capacity, which, when completed, will take Acron group’s urea granulation capability to 1.4 million mt/y.
The completion of a 100,000 mt/y calcium nitrate unit at Veliky Novgorod is planned for this year. It will be the group’s first CAN production facility.
At its Dorogobuzh subsidiary in Russia’s Smolensk region, technical upgrades of the ammonia unit and the completion of a new nitric acid unit will result in a higher AN output, which Acron Group said will allow the group to increase AN supplies to the domestic market, where the product is traditionally popular.
As a result of these projects, Popov expects the group’s commercial output to reach 8.7 million mt in 2022.
Acron Group commercial fertilizer output!
| ‘000 mt | FY2021 | FY2020 | % change |
| Ammonia | 2,909 | 2,729 | +7 |
| Nitrogen fertilizers | 5,058 | 4,707 | +8 |
| AN (agricultural grade) | 2,241 | 2,430 | (8) |
| Urea (agricultural grade) | 1,463 | 1,180 | +24 |
| UAN | 1,354 | 1,096 | +24 |
| Complex fertilizers | 2,625 | 2,372 | +11 |
| NPK | 2,406 | 2,236 | +8 |
| Total | 6,765 | 6,448 | +5 |
1 Includes in-house consumption