All posts by hlancey@bloomberg.net

Phosphate Rock

Market Watch, Phosphate Rock, Tunisia

Tunisia:

The volume of phosphate rock transported by rail from Compagnie des Phosphates de Gafsa’s (CPG) mining operations to the downstream plants of Groupe Chimique Tunisien (GCT) and Tunisian Indian Fertilizer S.A. (TIFERT) increased 6% in the first eight months of the year, to 1.08 million mt, according to an African Manager report, citing Tunisia’s Radio Mosaïque FM.

This compares to 1.015 million mt in the same period last year. The increase was due in part to Tunisian National Railway Co. (SNCFT) securing additional phosphate rail cars. TIFERT is the joint venture between CPG, GCT, and India’s Coromandel and GSFC.

Phosphoric Acid

Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Phosphoric Acid, Southern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

Phos acid postings in the Eastern Cornbelt remained at the $10.15/unit rail-DEL level for September tons.

Western Cornbelt:

The phos acid price for September continued at $10.15/unit rail-DEL in the Western Cornbelt.

Southern Plains:

The phos acid market was pegged at the $10.15/unit rail-DEL level for September shipments in the Southern Plains.

India:

Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. (JMPC) confirmed in a filing to the Amman Stock Exchange last week that it has agreed to fourth-quarter phosphoric acid contract prices with an Indian company – reported to be Coromandel – at $985/mt CFR with 30 days credit, marking a $135/mt increase on the $850/mt CFR third-quarter contract.

The Jordanian producer said it will supply 100,000 mt of phos acid under the fourth-quarter contract. Another supplier is reported to have subsequently agreed to fourth-quarter contract phosphoric acid prices with Coromandel at the same price.

Ammonium Thiosulfate

Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, South Central, Southern Plains, Western Cornbelt

Eastern Cornbelt:

The ammonium thiosulfate market was unchanged at $245-$270/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low reported at Terre Haute, Ind., and the high out of inland terminals in Ohio. The Cincinnati market remained at the $255/st FOB level in mid-September.

Western Cornbelt:

Ammonium thiosulfate was unchanged at $225-$260/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported at Waterloo, Iowa.

Southern Plains:

The ammonium thiosulfate market was steady at $220-$250/st FOB in the Southern Plains, depending on location.

South Central:

Ammonium thiosulfate pricing remained at $240-$245/st FOB Memphis for the last confirmed offers.

Transportation

Arkansas River, Illinois River, Market Watch, Mississippi RIver, Ohio River, Transportation, U.S. Gulf

US Gulf:

Two-hour waits continued between lockages at Leland Bowman Lock due to low water levels, although delays were much improved. Tows were reported waiting up to six hours to pass the site, falling from 24-56 hours noted one week earlier.

Harvey Lock remained shut to navigation due to reverse head conditions. BNSF railroad bridge repairs at Morgan City, La., blocked travel daily between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. The project is scheduled through Sept. 25.

Side gate repairs are scheduled to shut Algiers Lock from Oct. 2 to Dec. 1. Sources tied the work to damage sustained from a vessel collision in July. Bayou Sorrel Lock guidewall repairs prompted daily shutdowns from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., causing waits up to 24 hours. The effort is scheduled to continue into March 2024.

Brazos Lock repairs underway through Nov. 29 limited travel between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. daily, triggering delays up to 28 hours. Dredging at Bayou Chene is scheduled through Nov. 30, necessitating slow-travel warnings through the area.

Port Allen Lock saw 4-7 hour delays during the week, while tows waited up to 20 hours to pass Industrial Lock. Intermittent 4-6 hour wait times were reported at Colorado Lock.

Mississippi River:   

Low-water conditions continued on the Lower Mississippi River, extending towing restrictions. Tows traveling upriver between the US Gulf region and Cairo, Ill., saw maximum loading drafts cut by 25-30%, while downriver drafts were reduced by 20-25%. Barge counts were restricted by 15-40% on the lower river, sources said, depending on location and horsepower, contributing to 48-72 hour delays.

Draft limits were cut by 15% on travel between Cairo and St. Louis, as well as through the St. Louis harbor. Maximum towing widths were restricted to four barges on the mid-Mississippi.

The Vicksburg, Miss., river gauge was noted at a low-stage (-)1.54 feet and holding on Sept. 21, while the Memphis gauge returned a low-stage (-)9.49-foot reading at midweek. St. Louis depths were posted at (-)1.96 feet on Sept. 21.

As groundings continue to be reported throughout the eastern river system, sources described at least four dredges in operation on the Lower Mississippi during the week, including at Miles 437, 487, 537, and 925. Dredging was also underway at Mile 28.6 of the upper river.

Upper-river locks are projected to begin closing for the winter navigation season on Dec. 5, with the spring reopening scheduled for March 5-11, 2024.

NOLA-loaded barges slated for delivery at or above Clinton, Iowa, were expected to conclude 2023 departures during the first week of October. Cargoes headed to ports below Clinton will continue loading through the third week of October. Locks 18-27 are expected to remain open through the winter.

Illinois River:

Illinois River draft reductions continued at 15% for the week due to low water levels. Wickets were reported up at Peoria Lock and LaGrange Lock, forcing lockages at both sites.

Repairs and maintenance underway at Brandon Road Lock, Dresden Island Lock, and Marseilles Lock are scheduled to conclude on Sept. 30. The work has effectively halted commercial navigation on the Illinois River since June.

Ohio River:

Maximum loading drafts remained at 10.0-10.5 feet on the Ohio River due to low water levels. Drafts were limited to 8.5 feet on the Monongahela River.

Dredging reported at Miles 967-975 was expected to run through Sept. 24. The project limited southbound travel to daylight hours, while northbound vessels were restricted to overnight navigation.

The John T. Myers Lock primary chamber is shut through Nov. 17, forcing detours through the secondary chamber. Delays were reported in a wide 16-52 hour range during the week.

The Montgomery Lock main chamber is offline for repairs and maintenance through Sept. 25. After the main chamber reopens, the auxiliary chamber will close on Sept. 25-Oct. 17 and Nov. 22-26. Additional main chamber shutdowns are scheduled for Oct. 17-Nov. 22 and Nov. 26-Dec. 22.

The land chamber at Smithland Lock is offline through Oct. 21 for repairs. The site’s river chamber will shut on Oct. 22-Nov. 20. Smithland tows were required to lock with an assist boat during the week due to strong outflows, sources said.

Arkansas River:

Joe Hardin Lock and Webbers Falls Lock were scheduled to return from planned repairs on Sept. 15 and Sept. 17, respectively.

OCI Outlines Green Ammonia Plans at Beaumont; Green Methanol Capacity to Double in the US

ADNOC - Abu Dhabi, Ammonia, Featured, Green Ammonia, Green Hydrogen, Methanol, News, Texas

OCI Global on Sept. 15announced an agreement to offtake green hydrogen from New Fortress Energy Inc.’s (NFE) hydrogen business ZeroParks from its plant in Texas, beginning in 2025.  The agreement will allow OCI Global to significantly scale up green ammonia production capacity to approximately 160,000 mt/y in Beaumont, Texas.

The agreement follows a 100-megawatt (MW) electrolyzer system order from Electric Hydrogen Co. (EH2) announced by NFE on Sept. 12. The green hydrogen will be produced by ZeroParks, using proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology and delivered to OCI’s facilities in Beaumont, where it will then be converted into green ammonia.

NFE’s first green hydrogen project, ZeroPark I, will come online in two phases. The first phase in 2025 will allow OCI to produce approximately 80,000 mt/y of green ammonia, and the second in 2026 will double OCI’s production capacity to 160,000 mt/y.

OCI produced its first tons of hydrogen-based green ammonia earlier this year at its Egypt Green facility, which is owned by Fertiglobe, a strategic partnership between OCI Global and ADNOC. OCI said the new plans complement its large-scale blue ammonia project in Texas, in partnership with Linde plc, which is scheduled to begin production in 2025 (GM Feb. 10, p. 1).

OCI also announced on Sept. 13 that it plans to double its green methanol production capacity to approximately 400,000 mt/y at its facility in Beaumont. Green methanol will come from a mix of renewable feedstocks, including renewable natural gas (RNG), green hydrogen, and other over-the-fence feedstock partnerships.

“Today’s announcement cements OCI’s position as the leading green methanol producer globally,” said OCI Global CEO Ahmed El-Hoshy. “It also represents another milestone in our decarbonization journey as a business, and our commitment to driving the energy transition.”

He added that it is clear that both methanol and ammonia will need to play an integral role to reach the IMO’s revised targets and he said OCI stands ready to supply them.

The scale-up plans include entering into supply agreements for renewable natural gas (RNG) exceeding 15,000 mmBtu per day, as well as securing the waste and development rights from the City of Beaumont. This is OCI’s first upstream RNG production facility and production is slated to start in first-quarter 2025. OCI also expects to produce green hydrogen-based e-methanol for the first time.

Methanol offtakers include the road fuels market, where it is used as a fuel-blend to reduce emissions; as a building block in a range of industrial applications; and most recently, as a fuel for shipping.

OCI has projected growth in incremental demand in the green methanol market of more than 6 million mt/y by 2028, due to the adoption of green methanol as a shipping fuel, based on the 225 dual-fueled methanol vessels now on order.

This summer, the first-ever green methanol container vessel, owned by AP Moller Maersk, was fueled with OCI HyFuels green methanol on its maiden voyage from Korea to Copenhagen. The company also announced last month a new agreement with Xpress Feeder Lines to supply their green methanol ships at the Port of Rotterdam from 2025.

“We continue to see more and more realization that methanol is the transportation sector’s most viable solution and the easiest way to transport and use renewable hydrogen today,” said Bashir Lebada, CEO, OCI Methanol/HyFuels.

“It is a solution that is available now and our focus is on continuing to scale technologies, whether through our projects or our supply partners, to ensure that our capacities continue to grow alongside demand,” Lebada added. “We are seeing increasing pull from road fuel markets due to the delay in EV adoption and charging station build-out, and while marine demand has been growing at a very fast pace, we have yet to see the impact of retrofits which should end up being a larger segment than new-builds.”