Israeli government considers new NH3 plant in southern Israel
Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry and the Israel Lands Authority have published a pre-qualifying tender for the construction and operation of an ammonia plant in southern Israel. The ministry said on Jan. 28 that the plant is to replace the ammonia storage facility in Haifa and supply the needs of the domestic market, which are currently met by imports.
The tender calls for production of 150,000 mt/y of ammonia and is to be located in Mishor Rotem, east of Beer Sheba. The initial location was to be at Ramat Hovav, but the new site was approved due to its proximity to the national gas transmission network and to customers. The minimum requirement is for production of 120,000 mt/y, which is the current annual domestic consumption.
The cost of the ammonia plant is put at $250 million, and it would be run on natural gas supplied from Israel’s offshore reserves. The tender will also allow the winning bidder to build downstream plants including urea, melamine, and methanol.
Three groups have expressed interest in the project: Israel’s Baran Group in cooperation with Germany’s Linde Group; Israel’s Ratio Oil Exploration; and Dor Chemicals. The Baran-Linde group is looking to build both an ammonia and urea plant, Ratio is interested only in an ammonia plant, and Dor has proposed a plant to produce both ammonia and methanol.
The new ammonia plant will enable the shutdown of the 12,000 mt ammonia storage facility in Haifa, which is owned and operated by Haifa Chemicals, a leading fertilizer company. In October 2013 the Israeli government approved a decision to shut down of the Haifa facility by 2017, citing security risks due to its location in a populated area. Environmental groups and the Haifa Municipality have for years been campaigning to move the facility.