All posts by hlancey@bloomberg.net

Coromandel Operations Suspended After NH3 Leak

Ammonia, India, News Briefs

Operations at Coromandel International Ltd.’s Ennore site near Chennai in India’s southern Tamil Nadu state remain suspended following an ammonia gas leak late on Dec. 26, which resulted in at least 57 people being hospitalized. The leak occurred in the ammonia unloading subsea pipeline, which is used to transport liquid ammonia from ships to the plant premises.

The Hindu Business Line newspaper, citing a company statement, reported that Coromandel noticed the abnormality just before midnight on Dec. 26, and “the gas leak was plugged within 20 minutes by specialists.” Tamil Nadu state officials ordered all manufacturing activities at the site to be suspended with the exception of the sulfuric acid unit, which couldn’t be immediately shut down.

As of Dec. 31, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board had yet to provide permission to Coromandel to resume operations after ordering the company to ensure all ammonia pipelines inside the plant are “intact and safe.” The company is also required to obtain all necessary approvals from the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), Tamil Nadu Maritime Board, and the Indian Register of Shipping before restarting operations at the Ennore site.

Coromandel also operates fertilizer production facilities in Kakinada and Visakhapatnam in the bordering Andhra Pradesh state.

Nitrogen Barge Sinks on Danube

Austria, News Briefs, Nitrogen

A nitrogen barge carrying 1,000 mt sank on the Danube River, according to Serbian environmental authorities on Jan. 5, which were monitoring the situation and testing the water. The barge sank after hitting a bridge at the border with Croatia just after midnight. The German ship Antonia was towing the barge Lola-5.

Croatia closed the bridge and border crossing and was inspecting the bridge for damage, according to the Associated Press, which said the ship was traveling from Austria to a Serbian port just north of Belgrade. More details about the kind of nitrogen or its owner were not immediately available.

China to Increase Phosphorus Capacity

China, News Briefs, Phosphorus

China aims to “significantly enhance” the sustainable capacity guarantee for phosphorus resources by 2026 and create three leading phosphorus companies with global competitiveness, according to Bloomberg, citing a Jan. 3 statement on China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website.

Under the plan, the country is expecting consistent improvements in the innovation, eco-friendliness, and safety of the industry, as well as a “remarkable” increase in the output of high-end phosphorus products, according to a separate report by Xinhua.

Soon after the announcement, share prices of Chinese phosphorus chemical companies rose: Guizhou Zhongyida +9.4%, Kunming Chuan Jin Nuo Chemical +7.9%, Henan Qing Shui Yuan Technology +9%, and Hubei Yihua Chemical +5.2%, according to Bloomberg.

Russia Sees Rebound in Fert Production, Exports

Ammonia, News Briefs, Nitrogen, Phosphate, Russia

Russian fertilizer production is expected to reach 59 million mt in full-year 2023, a level on par with 2021’s output, according to Russian news outlet Fertilizerdaily, citing Andrey Guryev, head of the Russian Fertilizers Producers Association (RFPA). Export volumes in 2023 are also anticipated to have returned to 2021 levels.

Russia’s fertilizer production saw a 9% year-over-year increase in the first eleven months of 2023, to 53 million mt, according to RFPA. The recovery comes after a challenging period when Russian fertilizer production and exports experienced declines. In 2022, production fell more than 7% to 54.3 million mt, with exports dropping by 15%.

If the current capacity utilization at Russian fertilizer plants is maintained, RFPA expects a 10% increase in production in 2024, with output potentially exceeding 64 million mt alongside “a substantial recovery” in export volumes.

Russia’s State Statistics Service (Rosstat) said the country produced 23.6 million mt of fertilizers in terms of active ingredient in first eleven months of 2023, a 10% year-over-year increase, according to Interfax. Of that total, potash production grew 22%, reaching 8.2 million mt of active ingredient; nitrogen fertilizer production was up 6%, to 11.5 million mt of active ingredient; and phosphate fertilizer output increased by 1%, reaching 4 million mt of active ingredient. Ammonia production was also up by just under 1% for the period.

In the month of November, Russia produced 2.3 million mt of fertilizers in terms of active ingredient, a 24% year-over-year increase, Rosstat reported. Potash production was up 68% in November, reaching 860,000 mt of active ingredient, while nitrogen fertilizer production rose 10%, to 1.1 million mt of active ingredient in November. Phosphate fertilizer production fell 1% in November, to 345,000 mt of active ingredient. Ammonia production totaled 1.5 million mt in November, a 3% year-over-year increase.

PhosAgro Boosts Fertilizer Exports by 1% in 2023

Africa, Asia, Brazil, Europe, Latin America, News Briefs, Nitrogen, Phosphate, Russia

PhosAgro PJSC exported 8.7 million mt of fertilizers in 2023, a 1% increase on 2022’s export volume of 8.6 million mt, the Russian fertilizer group reported last week, citing preliminary data. PhosAgro’s nitrogen fertilizer exports increased 6.5% year-over-year, while phosphates exports rose 8.7%.

According to PhosAgro CEO Mikhail Rybnikov, the main sales areas remain Latin America, Asia, and Africa. “At the same time, in 2023 we note a redistribution of supplies of about 1 million mt from India and other Asian countries towards Latin America,” Rybnikov said. “This is due to the restoration of demand from Brazil and more favorable pricing and logistics conditions with regard to Latin America.”

The group’s shipments to Europe in 2023 remained at the 2022 level of around 2 million mt. This is down by around a third compared with previous years, when PhosAgro’s exports to Europe reached 2.8-3 million mt annually, Rybnikov said. He noted that shipments to countries in Northern and Eastern Europe and the Baltic states have stopped, while shipments to Southern and Western Europe and the Balkans have increased.

PhosAgro’s shipments to Africa in 2023 exceeded 550,000 mt, up from 540,000 mt in 2022. Exports to countries neighboring Russia increased 18%. PhosAgro reported that in total, exports to “friendly” states accounted for almost 75% of the group’s exports in 2023, compared to 70% in 2022. Fertilizer shipments to Russian farmers were up 11% in 2023, although the group did not provide an actual volume figure.

PhosAgro in early December reported that it expected production of fertilizers and feed phosphates in full-year 2023 to reach 11.3 million mt, a 1.8% increase on 2022’s output of 11.1 million mt (GM Dec. 8, 2023).

Uralchem Expands Product Portfolio, Markets

Brazil, News Briefs, NPK, Philippines, Russia, Venezuela, Zinc

Russia’s Uralchem Group is expanding its product portfolio to access new markets and increase sales. The group said in a Dec. 28 statement that completed more than 70 field tests of new products in 2023, and its product range now boasts 15 new products, with five more grades under development.

Uralchem highlighted that sales of seven new NPK grades have started for producers of high-margin crops in Brazil, Columbia, and Venezuela, and that it has produced trial lots of a new blue-colored NPK fertilizer for Indonesia and the Philippines.

In addition, the group’s NPK Solar line has been expanded and now includes fertilizers containing amino acids, growth stimulators, and biological surfactants to “better capture fertilizer droplets on plant leaves during foliar feeding.”

Uralchem has also expanded its range of liquid products, including the new MicroSolar Liquid Boron and MicroSolar Liquid Zinc products, which it said is a premium product in high demand in Russia and CIS countries as a complementary product to its NPK Solar fertilizers.

Green AN Production Eyed for Egypt

Ammonium Nitrate, AN-20, Egypt, Green Ammonia, Green Hydrogen, News Briefs

Egypt’s Abu Qir Fertilizers Co., ABB International Group, MPS Infrastructure Co., and Petrojet have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build a green hydrogen/ammonia complex, according to Egypt Oil & Gas.

The project would supply green ammonia and renewable electricity to North Abu Qir for Agricultural Nutrients Co. for the production of 2,400 mt/d of granulated ammonium nitrate.

IPL Inks New Gas Contract

Australia, News Briefs

Australia’s Central Petroleum, Brisbane, reported on Dec. 22 that it has signed a Gas Supply Agreement (GSA) with Incitec Pivot Ltd. (IPL) for the supply of 0.87 PJ of natural gas in 2024. The GSA is for firm gas supply ex-field (Palm Valley or Mereenie), with take-or-pay provisions and a fixed price. Gas supplied under the GSA will be aggregated with existing Palm Valley gas supply from NZOG and Cue to deliver up to 1.74 PJ of gas to Incitec in 2024.

“We are delighted to extend our relationship with Incitec and continue our supply of gas to eastern Australian markets at this time of market uncertainty and supply shortages,” said Central Managing Director and CEO Leon Devaney.

Central said it expects to bring more gas to market in the future, having increased its production capacity through the commissioning of the Palm Valley 12 well in November 2022 and recent well recompletions at Mereenie.

Bion’s Ammonia Tech Moves to Final Design

Ammonia, News Briefs, Nitrogen, U.S.

Bion Environmental Technologies Inc., New York City, on Jan. 4 announced that it has achieved key objectives in the optimization of its Ammonia Recovery System (ARS) at the company’s commercial-scale demonstration facility in Fair Oaks, Ind. Bion will now begin the final design process for full-scale systems.

Bion’s ARS produces organic fertilizer from the volatile ammonia in livestock waste. Final economic and energy efficiency models will be validated during the final design process, which should be completed in first-quarter 2024. Bion will engage an engineering firm to prepare a third-party evaluation of the ARS. Bion reported that operating results to date at Fair Oaks indicate ARS performance will exceed initial expectations for ammonia recovery and economics.

The ARS stabilizes the ammonia with CO2, also from the waste, producing low carbon and organic nitrogen fertilizers. Most of the nitrogen in livestock waste is lost as ammonia, both a waste of resources and a significant source of air and water pollution worldwide.

Bion said several applications to OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) and CDFA (California Department of Food and Agriculture) are being prepared for listing and certification of new organic products. Bion received an OMRI-Listing in 2020 for its initial product.