All Posts from August 27, 2020

Tessenderlo, Kemira Ink SOP Deal

Belgium’s Tessenderlo Kerley International and Finland’s Kemira Oyj have signed a long-term partnership agreement for SOP. Under the terms of the agreement, Kemira will produce premium SOP fertilizers (both standard and water-soluble grades) at its plant in Helsingborg, Sweden, and Tessenderlo Kerley International will market these products, the Brussels-based company said in its first-half 2020 earnings release.

The deal is scheduled to become operational at the beginning of 2021. No further details were disclosed, including about the volumes involved.

MMTC Awards 1.7 Million Tons

In a rush to secure necessary urea, MMTC issued awards totaling 1.7 million mt. The buyer is just waiting for acceptance from the providers.

Arab Producers Accept MMTC FOB Counter Bid

Sources said MMTC accepted the PIC price of $280/mt FOB. Almost immediately after, Fertiglobe also accepted that price. The agreement means MMTC will take at least 220,000 mt on an FOB basis. Sources are now saying MMTC could take 1.3 million – 1.7 million mt in the tender that closed Aug. 26. See the Aug. 28 issue of Green Markets for more details.

OCI Posts $19.9Mn 2Q Adjusted Net Loss

OCI NV, Amsterdam, reported a second-quarter adjusted net loss of $19.9 million, compared with an adjusted year-ago adjusted net income of $36.9 million. Adjusted EBITDA declined 20 percent to $219.5 million, down from the prior year’s $275.1 million. Revenues fell 8 percent to $875.4 million versus the year-ago $953.5 million. 

OCI-produced volumes sold in the second quarter increased 6 percent to a record 3.26 million mt, up from 3.08 million mt, while six-month own-produced volumes were up 26 percent on the year, at 6.0 million mt. 

The company said Fertiglobe has successfully negotiated final terms with lenders for a $385 million refinancing package, which will crystallize interest savings of about $9 million per year. 

OCI is maintaining its forecast that it is on track to deliver “robust” volume growth in 2020. “As we reach our run-rate production, we expect to benefit from a further step-up in volumes in 2021 compared with 2020. We expect this particularly in methanol, where we have finalized major turnarounds at OCI Beaumont in February and in The Netherlands in June,” the company said. 

OCI Beaumont on Aug. 25 shut down its ammonia and methanol plants pre-emptively ahead of Hurricane Laura.