All Posts from October 14, 2022

Sev.en Global Finalizes Salt Lake Potash Purchase; Company Eyes 2023 Ramp-Up

Australia, Eastern Europe, News, News Briefs, Potash

Sev.en Global Investments (Sev.en), Prague, on Oct. 10 confirmed that it has completed the acquisition of Australia Salt Lake Potash Pty Ltd., the operating subsidiary of Salt Lake Potash (SO4) developing the Lake Way potash project in Western Australia (GM Sept. 23, p. 29).

The acquisition follows the administration and receivership process of SO4, where Sev.en reached a deal with SO4’s receivers and senior creditors on the purchase of SO4’s subsidiaries – Australia Salt Lake Potash Pty Ltd and Piper Preston Pty Ltd.

The Lake Way project is currently in the final stage of its development, with much of the required production infrastructure already in place.

“We continue to strengthen our market presence in Australia and are excited to enter one of its nascent commodity industries,” said Alan Svoboda, Sev.en CEO. “With ever growing pressure to increase global agricultural yields, we see strong potential in the global mineral fertilizer market, especially in potash, and are excited to play our role in ensuring sufficient global supply of this vital commodity.

“With the additional capital required to finalize the project ramp-up, we plan to start producing in about a year’s time,” he added. “This will not only benefit the project’s employees, local community, and suppliers, but also consumers worldwide.”

Once finalized, the project is expected to produce up to 245,000 mt/y of sulfate of potash (SOP). The company said this would make it the largest SOP producer in Australia and Southeast Asia, and position it among the leading global producers of the product.

Sev.en has appointed Mark Sykes as its Australia Country Manager. He will oversee Sev.en’s Australian portfolio of assets, along with building a pipeline of projects that will build on Sev.en’s presence in the mining and power sectors. The company said he has 30 years of experience in the natural resources and FMCG sectors. He holds a Mining Engineering degree from Curtin University and a Minerals Economic Masters from Macquarie University in Australia.

License issued for Thai Potash Project

News, News Briefs, Potash, Thailand

Italian-Thai Development Public Co. Ltd., Bangkok, on Oct. 7 announced that majority-owned subsidiary Asia Pacific Potash Corp. Ltd. (APPC) has been granted a potash mining license from the Udon Thani Provincial Industrial Office. Italian-Thai shares advanced as much as 18% after the announcement, according to Bloomberg.

The Udon South Potash Project has an estimated total mineral reserve of 85.8 million mt, which could yield an estimated 33.7 million mt at a maximum production rate of 2.1 million mt/y. APPC is obligated to sell domestically about 700,000 mt/y, with the surplus 1.4 million mt/y permitted to be exported. At present, Thailand imports all of its potash.

The license was granted for 25 years and is extendable for another five years. The construction period for the mine is put at three years, with potash expected to be produced over a 21-year period.

AVANGRID, Sempra Study US Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Development

Green Ammonia, Green Hydrogen, Houston, TX, News, News Briefs, Northeast, Spain

AVANGRID, Orange, Conn., a member of the Iberdrola Group, Bilbao, Spain, and Sempra Infrastructure, Houston, a subsidiary of Sempra, San Diego, on Oct. 12 announced they have entered into a nonbinding Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the potential joint development of US green hydrogen and ammonia projects powered by renewable sources.

The HOA provides a framework for the companies to identify, appraise, and potentially develop large-scale green projects to help meet the energy and decarbonization needs of both US and international customers.

The parties said AVANGRID’s deep background in renewable development as the third largest renewables operator in the US complements Sempra Infrastructure’s complex project development and commercial expertise across clean power, energy networks, and LNG and net-zero solutions.

Sempra Infrastructure said it is currently developing multiple world-class energy transition projects in North America, including LNG export projects to serve customers in both the Atlantic and Pacific Basins, as well as new opportunities in renewable energy, carbon capture, and sequestration, in addition to other pathways to produce clean hydrogen and ammonia leveraging the resources available in different regions.

KEPCO, Aramco Ink Blue Hydrogen, NH3 MOU

Blue Ammonia, Blue Hydrogen, News, News Briefs, Saudi Arabia, South Korea

South Korea’s state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Saudi Aramco have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to do joint research on a potential partnership in investment, production, transportation, storage, and sale of blue hydrogen and blue ammonia, according to a Bloomberg report.

KEPCO will also work with Saudi Electric Co. and ACWA Power to jointly look into ways to lower CO2 emissions via displacing oil-based power generators in Saudi Arabia

Separately, KEPCO will also form a team dedicated to winning a nuclear project in Saudi Arabia.

Cepsa, Rotterdam to Establish Green Trade Lane

Green Hydrogen, News, News Briefs, Northwestern Europe, Spain

Spanish Energy Company Cepsa and the Port of Rotterdam have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the first green hydrogen corridor between southern and northern Europe. It would create a green hydrogen supply chain between two of Europe’s main ports, Rotterdam and Algeciras.

“Northwest Europe uses far more energy than it can produce in a sustainable way,” said Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority. “We are therefore setting up multiple trade lanes for green hydrogen, together with exporting countries and private businesses all over the world. We expect that in 2050 some 20 million mt of hydrogen will flow through the port, of which only 2 million mt will be produced locally.

“Southern Spain, with its abundant space, sun, wind, and ports is a logical location to produce green hydrogen for both local use and export,” he added. “Setting up this trade lane between Algeciras and Rotterdam is a substantial contribution to Europe’s ambition to reduce CO2-emissions, as well as increase Europe’s energy independency and stimulate our economies.”

Cepsa plans to export hydrogen produced at its San Roque Energy Park near the Bay of Algeciras, through hydrogen carriers such as ammonia or methanol, to Rotterdam. The parties said Rotterdam is the most important energy port in Europe, handling 13% of European energy demand, while the Port of Algeciras is first in Spain, fourth in Europe, and an important trade route between Europe and Asia.

The trade lane is expected to be operational by 2027. Cepsa also intends to develop a similar supply chain from its La Rábida Energy Park in Huelva.

Cepsa plans to lead green hydrogen production in Spain and Portugal by 2030 with a production capacity of 2GW, half the current target set by the Spanish government, and to become a major player in Europe.

To generate the renewable energy necessary for its production, Cepsa said it will develop a portfolio of 7 GW of renewable, wind, and solar projects alongside working hand-in-hand with other renewable energy producers in Andalusia to promote the integration of these new plants into the electricity system.

Technip Picked for Uniper Green FEED

France, Germany, Green Hydrogen, News, News Briefs, Northwestern Europe

German utility Uniper SE said on Oct. 12 that it has selected Technip Energies NV, Paris, to conduct the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study of its green hydrogen project, H2Maasvlakte, at the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The study will begin immediately.

“Uniper’s decision to start the FEED phase of its 100 MW electrolyzer is an important next step in making Rotterdam Europe’s Hydrogen Hub,” said Allard Castelein, CEO Port of Rotterdam. “It’s our ambition to make the Port of Rotterdam an important location for green hydrogen production, as well as a major import hub. Starting the FEED study shows Uniper’s determination to be part of this transition towards a sustainable industry.”

Uniper hopes the project will eventually produce up to an electrolysis capacity of 500 megawatt by 2030, with the first 100 MW coming in 2025.

LSB, Koch Renegotiate Ammonia Contract

Ammonia, News, News Briefs, U.S.

LSB Industries Inc., in an Oct. 11 SEC filing, reported that on Sept. 2, 2022, its subsidiary, El Dorado Chemical Co. (EDC), received a notice of non-renewal of an ammonia purchase and sale agreement with Koch Fertilizer LLC, dated Nov. 2, 2015 (GM Nov. 9, 2015).

LSB said the notice was a procedural requirement to keep the contract from automatically renewing and the parties are cooperatively renegotiating the terms of the agreement to continue supply beyond the termination date of June 30, 2023.

South Harz Potash Ltd. – Management Brief

Australia, Management Briefs, Potash

Junior miner South Harz Potash Ltd., West Perth, Western Australia, which is developing potash assets in Germany, has announced the appointment of long-time potash industry veteran Lawrence Berthelet as a Non-Executive Director and as a member of its Technical Committee, effective Oct. 17, 2022.

Berthelet recently stepped down from the position of Head of Mining Division at EuroChem. Previously, he held several senior management roles across seven years at The Mosaic Co., including Vice President, Capital (North America) and Vice President, Engineering and Capital (Potash Business Unit).

He has also been Vice President, Potash (Global Mining and Metallurgy) and General Manager, Saskatoon, at SNC-Lavalin; Mine Manager, Vanscoy Potash Operations, for Agrium Inc. (now Nutrien Ltd.); and held senior roles at National Manufacturing of Canada. He began his career as a plant metallurgist at Mosaic.

Berthelet holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an MBA from the University of Saskatchewan.

In other management news, South Harz also advises that its CEO search process is now at an advanced stage, with an appointment expected to be finalized in the next few weeks, followed by which a review of the Board of Directors will be conducted. The company announced in May that Board Chairman Ian Farmer had taken on the role of Acting Executive Chairman after the departure of Managing Director and CEO Chris Gilchrist (GM May 20, p. 27).

CF Collaborates with ExxonMobil, EnLink in CO2 Capture, Transport, Storage

Blue Ammonia, Carbon Dioxide, Featured, Louisiana, News

CF Industries Holdings Inc. on Oct. 12 said that it has entered into the largest-of-its-kind commercial agreement with ExxonMobil to capture and permanently store up to 2 million mt of CO2 emissions annually from its Donaldsonville, La., manufacturing facility. Start-up for the project is scheduled for early 2025.

“CF Industries is pleased to partner with ExxonMobil through this definitive CO2 offtake agreement, accelerating our decarbonization journey and supporting Louisiana’s and the country’s climate goals,” said Tony Will, CF President and CEO.

“This agreement also ensures that we remain at the forefront of the developing clean energy economy. As we leverage proven carbon capture and sequestration technology, CF Industries will be first-to-market with a significant volume of blue ammonia. This will enable us to supply this low-carbon energy source to hard-to-abate industries that increasingly view it as critical to their own decarbonization goals,” he continued.

CF expects to market up to 1.7 million mt/y of blue ammonia.

As previously announced, CF is investing $200 million to build a CO2 dehydration and compression unit at the Donaldsonville facility to enable captured CO2 to be transported and stored (GM Aug. 12, p. 29). ExxonMobil will then transport and permanently store the captured CO2 in secure geologic storage it owns in Vermilion Parish. ExxonMobil plans to develop a 125,000-acre CO2 storage location in the parish.

As part of the project, ExxonMobil has signed an agreement with EnLink Midstream to use EnLink’s transportation network to deliver CO2 to storage. EnLink already has a system of over 4,000 miles of pipeline in the state.

The parties said the captured emissions will be equivalent to replacing approximately 700,000 gasoline-powered cars with electric vehicles.

Orica Ltd. – Management Brief

Australia, Management Briefs

Orica Ltd., Melbourne, Victoria, announced that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Christopher Davis, will be leaving the company, and Kim Kerr has been appointed as Orica’s new CFO, effective Oct. 11.

Kerr joined Orica in September 2022 as Vice President Group Finance. Prior to joining the company, she spent over 16 years in several senior roles at Newcrest Mining. Orica said Davis will be available until Dec. 30, 2022, to support an orderly transition.

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