Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Ma’aden) reported a 1 percent fall in first-quarter DAP production compared with the same prior-year quarter, to 1.07 million mt, according to a first-quarter earnings presentation to analysts and investors on May 3. Ammonia output was down 14 percent downturn to 498,000 mt.
Sales were also lower in the first quarter, with DAP sales down 10 percent, to 1.08 million mt, while ammonia sales fell 22 percent to 269,000 mt.
Ma’aden 1Q DAP & Ammonia Production & Sales
| ‘000 mt | 1Q-2021 | 1Q-2020 | % change |
| DAP production | 1,071 | 1,081 | (1) |
| DAP sales | 1,080 | 1,197 | (10) |
| Ammonia production | 498 | 577 | (14) |
| Ammonia sales | 269 | 347 | (22) |
Ma’aden expects completion of its new 1.1 million mt/y capacity ammonia-3 plant under construction at Ras Al-Khair on the Kingdom’s East Coast in the fourth quarter of this year, with the facility to be fully operational in the first quarter of 2022.
The Saudi company said it expects to produce 20,000 mt at ammonia-3 in fourth-quarter 2020.
The company had reported in February the plant was “north of 55 percent completed” and was likely to start up at the end of 2021-the beginning of 2022 (GM Feb. 12, p. 37).
Construction of ammonia-3 began in October 2018 (GM Oct. 26, 2018), and is being built adjacent to the Ma’aden Phosphate Co. and Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal Phosphate Co. (MWSPC) DAP/MAP plants and their associated facilities. Ma’aden last week put the total budget for the ammonia-3 plant at $1.113 billion.
Ammonia-3 is the first unit under construction as part of Ma’aden’s ambitious plans for a third large-scale phosphate complex, “Phosphate 3,” which upon completion will add a further 3 million mt/y of phosphate fertilizer production capacity to Ma’aden’s portfolio.
Ammonia from ammonia-3 looks likely to be sold initially on the market. In February, local media, citing the company, reported output from the ammonia-3 plant would add 1.1 million mt to the Saudi producer’s sales (GM Feb. 12, p. 33). However, this could not be confirmed with Ma’aden by Green Markets’ press time.
In February, Ma’aden’s then CEO Mosaed bin Suliman Al Ohali confirmed to analysts that the company was looking at developing Phosphate 3 in two phases: Phase 1, half of the capacity, 1.5 million mt/y, and then another phase of 1.5 million mt/y.
This week, the company indicated it was targeting completion of Phase 1 in 2025, but provided no details on what Phase 1 comprised. It confirmed the budget for the entire Phosphate 3 project remained at $4.219 billion
Ma’aden said remediation work continues at the majority-owned Ma’aden Wa’ad Al Shamal Phosphate Co. (MWSPC) facilities. Al Ohali confirmed to analysts in February that MWSPC’s ammonium phosphate production was operating at around 60 percent to 70 percent capacity. The CEO had confirmed the technical issues at MWSPC was not in one specific location.
On the progress to achieve full capacity operation, the company last week said phosphate fertilizer production at MWSPC would reach 3.1 million in 2025 from 2.8 million mt in 2021. MWSPC’s phosphate fertilizer design capacity is some 3 million mt/y.
MWSPC commenced “commercial” production of DAP in December 2018. The Mosaic Co. and SABIC own 25 and 15 percent stakes, respectively, in the company.
Mosaed bin Suliman Al Ohali resigned from the position of Ma’aden CEO, effective April 25 (GM April 30, p. 29). Abdulaziz bin Asker Al Harbi has been appointed acting CEO until further notice.
Ma’aden posted a net profit after zakat and tax for the first quarter of SAR761.2 million (approximately $202.9 million at current exchange rates) versus a net loss of SAR353.3 million for the same prior-year period (GM April 30, p. 27).