All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

Koch Agronomic Services – Management Brief

Management Briefs, Southern Plains

Koch Agronomic Services, Wichita, Kan., reported that Michael Berry is starting a new position as Vice President, Customer Activation and Branding. Berry has been with the company for more than five years, previously serving as Director, Brand Expansion, and Director, Ag Market Portfolio.

Berry previously worked with United Suppliers as Segment Marketing Manager from December 2015 to November 2017, and earlier with Verdesian Life Sciences as Senior Marketing Manager from November 2015 to November 2015. He began his career with SFP, serving as Brand Manager from January 2011 to March 2013, Director of Marketing from March 2013 to January 2014, and Vice President of Business Relations from January to October 2014.

Ferticell – Management Brief

Management Briefs, Southwest

Ferticell, an organic fertilizer producer based in Tempe, Ariz., announced that Paul Johnson is joining the company as a Sales Agronomist for the Southern and Central California/Southwest US region. Ferticell said Johnson has more than 20 years of experience in business development and plant nutrition sales and research in prior roles with Sunkist Growers, BASF, Compass Minerals, and several organic nutritional companies. Johnson holds PCA and CCA licenses and BS and MS degrees in Agronomy from the University of California.

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. – Management Brief

Management Briefs, Southeast

Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., announced on April 10 that Michael Osborne has joined the company as Vice President, Manufacturing. He is replacing Bill Manzer, who plans to retire after more than 12 years with Rayonier. Manzer will remain with the company through March 2024 to facilitate the transition and finish several projects.

Rayonier said Osborne has more than 30 years of manufacturing experience, most recently serving as Vice President, Global Manufacturing for Kraton Pine Chemicals. He began his career with Georgia Pacific, eventually serving as Director of Strategic Planning. In 2011 he joined Arizona Chemical Company as Senior Plant Manager at their Panama City, Fla., facility.

Osborne was promoted to Director, Global Engineering in 2015, shortly before Arizona Chemical was acquired by Kraton in 2016. He was then promoted to Director of Global Manufacturing in December 2019, and later became Vice President, Global Manufacturing for the Pine Chemicals division. He holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of Southern Mississippi, an MS in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and an MBA from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Acron Group Sees 3% Rise in 1Q Fert Production

Ammonia, Ammonium Nitrate, News, News Briefs, NPK, Russia, UAN, Urea

Russia’s Acron Group saw its commercial fertilizer output increase by 3% in the first quarter, to 1.86 million mt from 1.80 million mt in last year’s first quarter, the producer said on April 13. Production of ammonia rose by just under 1%, to 750,000 mt, all of which was consumed in-house.

Production of nitrogen fertilizers grew by 1%, to 1.47 million mt from 1.44 million mt the previous year. Of this total, output of urea for agricultural use increased by 16% year-over-year, reaching 493,000 mt versus the year-ago 426,000 mt. UAN output also grew, increasing 10% to a total of 370,000 mt during the first quarter.

However, first-quarter production of ammonium nitrate (AN) for fertilizer use was down by 15% compared with a year-ago, falling to 583,000 mt from 682,000 mt.

Complex fertilizers production also fell in the quarter, declining 1% year-over-year to 609,000 mt, reflecting a 55% drop in output of bulk blends. In contrast, NPK output was up by 2%, reaching 596,000 mt versus 587,000 mt in the first quarter of 2022.

Meanwhile, the group’s production of apatite concentrate in the first quarter increased by 4%, to 307,000 mt from 294,000 mt last year. Some 250,000 mt of the first-quarter output was consumed in-house, and 57,000 mt was sold to third parties.

Acron Group’s industrial products production in the first quarter was down 10%, falling to 271,000 mt from 302,000 mt last year. Industrial products include industrial urea and low-density and technical-grade AN, as well as methanol, formalin, and calcium carbonate, among others.

Acron Group 1Q Fertilizer Production (‘000 mt)

  1Q-2023 1Q-2022 % change
Ammonia 750 744 +0.8
Nitrogen fertilizers 1,465 1,444 +1
AN 583 682 (15)
Urea 493 426 +16
UAN 370 336 +10
Calcium nitrate 20 0 –
Complex fertilizers 609 615 (1)
NPK 596 587 +2
Bulk blends 13 29 (55)
Total commercial output of fertilizers 1,858 1,803 +3

SABIC Completes Deal for Stake in ETG Inputs

News, News Briefs, Saudi Arabia

Riyadh-based SABIC Agri-Nutrients Co. Ltd. has completed the procedures to acquire 49% of the share capital of Dubai-based agri-nutrient blender and distributor ETG Inputs Holdco Ltd., the Saudi company announced in an April 10 filing to Saudi’s Tadawul.

SABIC Agri-Nutrients and ETG Inputs Holdco’s parent company, ETC Group, also based in Dubai, signed a binding transaction for the stake acquisition early last year (GM Jan. 13, 2022). The Saudi firm at the time said it agreed to pay an enterprise value of $320 million for the shareholding, based on cash free, debt free, and changes in the working capital adjustment that would be determined at transaction completion.

It did not disclose the final transaction value in its latest filing, but said it expects the financial impact of the deal to appear during the second quarter of the fiscal year ended Dec. 31, 2023. The company is financing the acquisition using its own resources.

ETG owns more than 350 distribution centers across sub-Saharan Africa, and blends and distributes specialized fertilizers and agro chemicals. SABIC Agri-Nutrients said the acquisition of the ETG stake is part of its strategy to integrate the value chain to include blending and distribution of agri-nutrients in global markets and move closer to farmers and end customers.

Klamath Basin Retailer Plans Fertilizer Expansion

News, News Briefs, Pacific N.W.

The Klamath County Board of County Commissioners in Klamath Falls, Ore., has approved a request from Basin Fertilizer and Chemical Co. for $258,311 in American Rescue Plan Act funds, which the company plans to use to expand fertilizer storage and railway capabilities at its Merrill, Ore., facility, the Klamath Falls Herald and News reported on April 12.

The newspaper reported that Basin plans to extend the mainline track of the Union Pacific Railroad by 30 feet and its own track line by 1,924 feet, and has already purchased 19 acres near its existing five-acre lot to build a larger shop, add equipment and truck storage, and add a dry fertilizer building with 15,000 tons of additional storage capacity.

Basin was founded in 1975, and currently has more than 50 employees serving growers over a 250-mile radius in the Klamath Basin. The company offers conventional fertilizers, crop protection products, bulk soil amendments, and organic crop nutrition products, as well as fertilizer blending, field spraying, dry application, precision ag services, and consulting.

Sage Potash Expands Land Package for Utah Project

News, News Briefs, Pacific N.W., Potash, Vancouver

Sage Potash Corp., Vancouver, B.C., on April 11 announced that it has acquired an additional 5,118.78 acres of private leases in Utah’s Paradox Basin, bringing the combined landholdings of the Sage Plain projects to a total of 88,118.78 acres. The newly acquired land is in addition to the 83,000 acres of state and private mineral leases and BLM prospecting permit applications that the company previously disclosed.

“The magnitude of our land portfolio in the potash-rich Paradox Basin is amplified by today’s announcement,” said SAGE CEO Peter Hogendoorn. “Securing a controlling interest in the private mineral rights adjacent to the Sage Plain Project and the Johnson 1 exploration well is a key step forward in the development of the project, giving not only the ability to increase our resource, but also plan for future surface infrastructure.”

Sage said earlier this year it is preparing an engineering plan for initial production of 150,000 mt/y of potash. Concurrently, it said it will continue to expand overall resource estimates that can support the potential of raising production to 2-3 million mt/y. Sage announced last month that its common shares would commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange on March 20 (GM March 17, p. 27).

“Due to the nature of potash deposits and the rather flat lying topography of the deposits – as evidenced by our 2D seismic data and correlated between the Johnson 1 exploration well and the Western Natural Gas well, located 2.2 km away – an increase in private leases will equate to an increase in the resources outlined in our 43-101 technical report,” said Patricio Varas, Sage’s COO and Vice President of Exploration.

Additionally, the company said it has entered into advertising and investor awareness campaigns with Dig Media Inc. dba Investing News Network, SmallCap Communications, Digitonic Limited, VHLA Media Inc., and Triomphe Holdings Ltd. dba Capital Analytica.

Millennial Potash Reports Progress at Banio Project

Africa, News, News Briefs, Potash, Vancouver

Millennial Potash Corp., Vancouver, B.C., reported on April 11 that it has made significant progress in the mobilization program for its Banio Potash Project, located in Gabon, West Africa, on the Atlantic Coast.

The company said it has initiated construction of the access road to planned drillhole BA-004; updated the exploration camp with modern communications, including satellite communications; prepped and upgraded rotary drill rig equipment at the site; initiated seismic reinterpretation studies; and resampled previous drillholes. The company also said a new core drill rig will arrive at the site in late April or early May.

“We are pleased with the excellent progress at our Banio Potash Project in Gabon,” said Farhad Abasov, Millennial’s Chair. “The camp is now up and running, complete with power, tent accommodations for 30 people, catering, medical facilities, and satellite communications. Preparations for drilling are advancing, and we hope to be drilling the upper part of hole BA-004 shortly.”

Millennial said data from seismic surveys acquired by French oil and gas company Maurel and Prom in 2011-2012 is currently being reviewed by Geo People, a UK-based geophysical consultancy, to confirm the basic geology of the Gabon Basin evaporite sequence. The company said reinterpretation of geophysical survey data will help with the planning of new drillholes and will allow correlation of the evaporite stratigraphy, and possibly carnallite seams, between drillholes.

OCP Secures €100M Green Loan from IFC

Morocco, News, News Briefs

Casablanca-based OCP Group SA has secured a €100 million (approximately $109.5 million at current exchange rates) loan with the International Finance Corp. (IFC) to build four solar plants to power operations at two of its mining sites, the two organizations said in an April 12 statement.

The four plants will have a combined capacity of 202-Megawatt peak (MWp) and will supply clean energy directly to the Moroccan group’s operations at Benguerir and Khouribga. The project will be implemented by OCP Green Energy SA, a wholly owned subsidiary established in October 2022 to develop the group’s renewable energy generation activities (GM Oct. 28, 2022).

The solar plants project is part of OCP’s $12.3 billion “Green Investment Program,” which aims to increase its green fertilizer production and transition its operations to green energy by 2030 (GM Dec. 9, 2022). The program will allow OCP to replace its electricity consumption with green energy, avoiding about 285,000 mt of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) annually, the group said.

Technical Study Completed for UAE Green Ammonia Plant

ADNOC - Abu Dhabi, Germany, Green Ammonia, Green Hydrogen, News, News Briefs

Brooge Energy Ltd., a Cayman Islands-based infrastructure provider engaged in clean petroleum products, biofuels, and crude oil storage and related services, announced on April 5 that a technical study of a proposed green hydrogen and green ammonia plant conducted by thyssenkrupp Uhde has been completed and delivered.

Brooge Energy announced last September that it had engaged thyssenkrupp to undertake a Technical Concept Study and cost estimate for a proposed green ammonia plant in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The plant is based on thyssenkrupp nucera’s alkaline water electrolysis and thyssenkrupp Uhde ammonia synthesis technologies, with a planned capacity of 1,950 mt/d of export-focused green ammonia produced from two phases using green hydrogen from solar energy, with water and air as raw materials.

The study involved a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of the power-to-ammonia value chain using thyssenkrupp’s proprietary modeling tool. Brooge Energy said the goal was to evaluate the influence of various factors on the overall cost-effectiveness of the plant, as well as identifying optimal plant designs.

“This Technical Concept Study is a significant milestone in our journey towards sustainable energy transition,” said Lina Salah Saheb, Interim CEO of Brooge Energy. “The study’s results will help us determine the optimal setup for our green ammonia plant and guide our future investment decisions.”