Fertilizers

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Spanish fertilizer firm Highfield Resources has entered a non-binding letter of intent for cooperation with Yankuang Energy Group and other investors which would give the company funding for its Muga Potash project and acquisition of a greenfield development in Saskatchewan, Canada. Yankuang Energy Group would become the largest shareholder under the deal, which would see the company and other investors, collectively referred to as the Cornerstone Placement. provide $220 million in funding for Muga phase one, which Highfield confirms is construction ready. The producer said Yankuang Energy intends to provide up to $90 million to support the Cornerstone Placement with the other strategic investors providing the remaining balance in exchange Highfield will issue the investors new ordinary shares. Beyond allowing it to advance the Spanish project, this agreement would also pave the way company officials said for the transformation of Highfield into a globally diversified potash company as they would receive the Southey Potash project in Saskatchewan. This would be completed by the acquisition of the shares in Yancoal Canada, a subsidiary of Yankuang Energy, who currently has this development, which is described as a greenfield potash mine project. Southey is located approximately 60km north of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada and is being designed as a solution mining operation with environmental approval in place and a feasibility study completed. Highfield added that there is a high confidence reserve estimate at the project with significant resource potential and that it is forecasted to have a mine life of more than 65 years. The planned annual production is estimated at 2.8 million tonnes/year of muriate of potash (MOP). The producer said the combination of Southey and Muga is expected to turn Highfield into a more significant potash market participant as it could eventually have a total production capacity potential of 3.8 million tonnes/year of MOP.

19-Jul-2024

NASHVILLE (ICIS)–Unfavorable farming fundamentals, including weaker grain prices, high cost of credit, and weather issues will continue to hit demand for fertilizers, said market participants on the sidelines of the Southwestern fertilizer conference (14-18 July). Grain prices have slumped to the lowest level since December 2020 as Tropical Storm Beryl was expected to bring rains to the Midwest. This could boost yields at a time when prices are already under downward pressure due to ample availability. "The US farmer is in the worst shape that I have seen in my career, and this is concerning," said a trader with over 15 years of experience. Urea prices in the US are the cheapest in the world right now, as expected for this time of the year due to it being the offseason. Some market players believe prices are low domestically to discourage more imports. Importers may even look at re-exports to Brazil and Latin America if urea prices in New Orleans decline below $290-295/short ton FOB Nola. The level of $290/short ton FOB Nola is equivalent to $360/tonne CFR (cost & freight). For now, the urea level in Nola is in the mid $300s/short ton FOB Nola for July shipment. The phosphates market is getting more attention than urea in the US given the lack of availability for monoammonium phosphate (MAP) due to countervailing duties (CVD) on product arriving from Russia and Morocco. The lack of MAP availability is seeing prices trade at around $120/tonne premium to diammonium phosphate (DAP), when usually the premium is $20/tonne. There is more demand for triple phosphate (TSP) as some players are forced to switch due to the lack of MAP supply. The CVD rate for Russian producer PhosAgro is currently at 28.50%, while for Morocco the process is under review and could result in an increase in CVDs from 2.12% to 14.21% in October/November. Thumbnail shows crops being grown at a farm. Image by Shutterstock.

16-Jul-2024

LONDON (ICIS)–Caprolactam (capro) availability in Europe has been very tight until recently, following a shortage of sulphur and low downstream demand. However, slow capro demand has helped to balance the market. Senior capro editor Marta Fern joins senior fertilizer editors Julia Meehan and Sylvia Traganida to discuss current developments and what lies ahead for the market.

16-Jul-2024

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Earlier this week, the head of Brazil’s chemical producers’ trade group Abiquim accompanied President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during his official visit to Bolivia and returned with deals which could potentially increase and liberalize natural gas supplies to Brazil. The chemicals industry in Brazil consumes around a third of all-natural gas available, according to Abiquim. Prices in the largest Latin American economy, however, are considerably higher than in the US, the other large economy in the Americas. Therefore, natural gas supplies – how to increase them and how to make them more affordable – has been on Abiquim lobbying agenda for some time now. Nearly a year ago, Brazil’s minister for energy and mines, Alexandre Silveira, was the star guest at an Abiquim event presenting a study on how to increase supplies. At the time, Silveira thanked them for the kind invitation but he came to basically say the government had little to do and it should be the private sector leading the effort. Truth be told, Brazil’s cabinet has much to say and much it could do about energy. The rather overwhelming and dominant position of Petrobras – a ministry in all effects, with its CEO always handpicked by whoever is the president – gives the energy major a key role in what Brazil's energy landscape looks like. Its interest in natural gas has always been very limited, injecting the supplies it gets from crude oil production back into the system. However, Abiquim and Petrobras earlier this year signed an agreement to explore joint projects on natural gas supplies. In June, Abiquim said in an interview with ICIS there would be news on that front within weeks, but nothing has been announced yet. One year on since Silveira attend that event in Sao Paulo, it seems industrial trade groups come and go in Brasilia’s corridors of power as they please. The current left-leaning administration and manufacturing companies have a common goal, expressed in different wishes: the former, more and better paid manufacturing jobs to please Lula's Workers Party (PT) core constituency; the latter, higher sales and profits, and improving their competitiveness can be an important part of that. Thus, this week Lula invited to go to Bolivia with him trade groups or associations representing sectors directly affected by Brazil’s high natural gas prices. Among them, Abiquim’s director general, Andre Passos. Never shy in using strong words, Abiquim said the week’s agreements in Bolivia represented a “historic step” for Brazilian chemicals which could come to partly fix its competitiveness problem. “The visit to Bolivia is in line with the objectives of the Gas Para Empregar [Gas for Jobs] program and could represent an immense short-, medium- and long-term opportunity for the natural gas market, with the possibility of even using gas from Argentina through Gasbol [pipeline connecting Bolivia’s fields with Brazil’s south and most industrialized states],” said Abiquim. “Based on the conversations held, it will now be possible to start rounds of negotiations for the contracting of Bolivian and Argentine gas without the participation of Petrobras, which will be essential to increase competition in the gas market, enabling greater liquidity, and even helping to make natural gas from the pre-salt viable.” Abiquim added that Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy was “essential in making this moment a reality” and in helping private players to make progress on being able to directly contract gas in Bolivia. In Brazil, the Ministry for Energy and Petrobras are the two decisive voices in energy policy. Abiquim’s diplomatic words thanking the ministry is just another way of saying they are pleased to see Petrobras losing the nearly full control it has had in issues related to the natural gas supply from Bolivia. This, of course, occurs as Abiquim's largest member and commanding voice is Brazilian polymers major Braskem, of which Petrobras owns 36.1%. A GIANT SEEKING GASBrazil has for several years been importing natural gas from Bolivia, via the pipeline Gasbol, which links the producer’s fields with Brazil’s southern and more industrialized states. Gasbol is the longest natural gas pipeline in South America with 3,150 kilometers (1,960 miles). According to Brazil’s Ministry of Energy and Mines, Bolivia is Brazil's main supplier of natural gas supplying two thirds of its imports. Meanwhile, natural gas represents 86% of Bolivia's exports to Brazil. Regarding natural gas, the trip this week aimed at easing access to that gas for Brazilian private sector players, until now quite constrained in what they could purchase given that natural gas bilateral trade has practically been a state-controlled affair via Petrobras. That was one of Brazil’s delegation legs, led by trade groups such Abiquim, Abrace Energia representing energy consumers, trade group for industrialists in Sao Paulo state FIESP, Abvidro representing the glass sector, and Aspacer and Anfacer, both representing the ceramics industry. Brazil’s minister for energy and mines, Alexandre Silveira, and Petrobras’ new CEO, Magda Chambriad, were also part of the delegation. While the company she now presides over may lose the upper hand in natural gas trade with Bolivia, Chambriad said – according to the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ press office – that the new natural gas production areas in Bolivia are going through the environmental licensing phase and could start up as soon as 2025. “The increase in gas supply to Brazil translates into lower prices in the country,” concluded the ministry. As it normally happens, many of the deals signed this week will be worth only the paper they are written in in some years’ time. However, they could be meaningful if just a few of them were to be implemented: the Bolivian Ministry for Hydrocarbons and Energy, in charge of all areas mentioned so far, published this week as many as 12 press releases on as many agreements. For example, and again related to Brazil’s thirst for natural gas, private companies had conversations about potential imports from Argentina but via the Bolivian Gasbol. MERCOSUR – AND MILEILula went to Bolivia after having visited Paraguay for a summit of Mercosur, the trade bloc formed by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and which this year welcomed Bolivia as a member. However, Argentina’s Javier Milei refused to participate in the summit, perhaps for the best. He has insulted Lula so many times and in so colorful manners that it may be hard to try and establish any personal relationship – the two have never met face to face. To make his preferences clear, instead of attending the Mercosur summit, Milei went to Brazil’s state of Santa Catarina for an international event of right-wing and far-right figures. “No political rift will prevent dialogue with our Argentine brothers and sisters,” said Silveira before travelling to the summit, quoted by the public news agency Agencia Brasil. But increasingly more people are wondering what Mercosur’s future will look like. Despite Lula and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez good intentions when Spain was the holder of the EU’s rotatory presidency in 2023, both leaders were unable to push their sides to conclude the free trade deal between the two blocs, which has been in the making more than 20 years. The financial weekly The Economist also wondered this week about the bloc’s importance, highlighting Milei’s absence. In an opinion-ed article – those without byline which would represent the publication’s view – it said that the host’s rebuffs to Mile for not attending may well fall in deaf ears. “It was an especially pointed snub. Skipping the twice-yearly get-together of the presidents of Mercosur, Milei chose instead to speak to the hard right at a Conservative Political Action Conference in Brazil … The reality is that Mercosur is no longer so important. Even the host, Santiago Peña of Paraguay, admitted that ‘Mercosur is clearly not going through its best moment’,” said the article. “Milei has never formally met Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, whom he slags off as ‘corrupt’ and a ‘communist’ (Brazil’s supreme court quashed Lula’s conviction – and he is a socialist). But political incompatibilities go back further: Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former leader, and Alberto Fernández, Milei’s Peronist predecessor, similarly shunned each other.” THE FIGURES In 2023, trade flows between Brazil and Bolivia totaled $3.31 billion, with a surplus of $278 million for Brazil, according to official figures. Bolivia was the 35th main destination for exports and the 30th country of origin for Brazilian imports. Brazil was the main destination for Bolivian exports and the second country of origin for its imports. The main products exported by Brazil to Bolivia were those from the steel sector (iron and steel, bars, angles, and profiles, 6.1% of the total), and passenger cars (3.8%). The main products imported by Brazil from Bolivia were natural gas (86%) and chemical fertilizers (4.8%). Insight by Jonathan Lopez

11-Jul-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Although Trinidad and Tobago have seen tremendous rainfall and significant winds the last two days, the island nation and its fertilizer operations escaped the heaviest impacts of Hurricane Beryl. Rated at a category 4 as of late on Tuesday, the storm did cause some harm to surrounding island countries but for most of Trinidad and Tobago what was felt was an extended stretch of unfavorable weather, with fertilizers producers emerging unscathed. Produces Yara, which manufactures ammonia at its facilities, said they had been fortunate as the storm passed by yesterday afternoon with plants not suffering any damage or having any production interrupted. With plant operations also in the same vicinity on the island producer Nutrien reported similar positive outcomes with a spokesperson saying, “Happily, zero impact. All running as usual.” Going forward Beryl is now expected to be impacting Jamaica by Wednesday morning. For now, the domestic fertilizer market is carefully watching the track as there are considerable production, storage and transportation interests which stretch along the US Gulf Coast. The current forecast has the storm potentially downgrading slightly as travels more towards making an eventual strike in northern Mexico, or possibly landing further up in southern Texas by the end of this week.

02-Jul-2024

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Here are some of the stories from ICIS Latin America for the week ended on 28 June. NEWS Brazil Unigel falls short of tolling deal for ammonia plants – Petrobras Petrobras has alleged that Unigel has failed to meet the terms of their tolling agreement for the production of ammonia at two idled plants, the Brazilian state-controlled energy producer said on Friday. Brazil’s Cibra inaugurates new plant in Matopiba Cibrafertil Companhia Brasileira de Fertilizantes (Cibra) has inaugurated a greenfield plant in Sao Luís, Maranhao, the Brazilian fertilizer company has announced. Saudi Arabia, South America offer promising opportunities for base oils Markets such as Saudi Arabia and countries in South America hold potential for growth in the years ahead, industry sources said on Friday. Mexico’s central bank keeps rates unchanged at 11% as inflation ticks up The Banco de Mexico kept on Thursday the main interest rate benchmark unchanged at 11% after the annual rate of inflation has increased since February. Argentina GDP down 5.1% in Q1 but sentiment rises again in May Argentina’s recession may have bottomed out in the first quarter, with a GDP fall of 5.1% year on year, as a leading indicator for economic activity rose in May for the third month. Plant status: Chemours resumes TiO2 production at Mexico plant US producer Chemours has resumed operations at its Altamira, Mexico titanium dioxide (TiO2) facility after it was forced to reduce them due to water shortages in the area. PRICING LatAm PE domestic prices lower in Argentina on weak demand Domestic polyethylene (PE) prices were assessed as lower in Argentina while being unchanged in other Latin American countries.

01-Jul-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Global sustainable technology firm Metso announced it has been awarded  an order by Brazilian producer Galvani Fertilizante to deliver a lime calcination kiln and cooler package for their fertilizer plant in Irece, Brazil. The company said Galvani is taking a significant step at their Irece project by introducing sustainable technological innovation with this new unit expected to produce 350,000 short tons of phosphate concentrate and 600,000 short tons of agricultural limestone annually. Metso will supply a rotary kiln, a rotary cooler and ancillary equipment with the kiln and cooler system a critical part in the process to remove limestone from the phosphate concentrate. The kiln will be the largest lime calciner Metso has ever delivered, measuring almost six meters in diameter and over 140 meters in length. For its part Galvani said the partnership will bring strategic benefits and allow gains in mineral processing at their new unit. “The laying of the foundation stone for this unit, which took place in May of this year, reinforces the importance of this project for the development of the economy of the state of Bahia, in Brazil, and for the generation of jobs and income,” said Marcelo Silvestre, Galvani CEO. “This milestone represents our commitment to innovation and development, boosting our ability to meet the demands of the fertilizer market.”

28-Jun-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Swiss fertilizer producer and trader Ameropa and India firm Hygenco Green Energies have announced they have signed a term sheet regarding the potential supply of green ammonia from Hygenco's forthcoming plant in India. The companies said one of the goals of this pact is to enhance green ammonia exports from India and to support the global transition to renewable energy and sustainable agricultural practices. Hygenco will produce green ammonia from a project to be located at the Gopalpur port in Odisha with the first phase anticipated to produce 600 short tons/day, which it plans to achieve by 2027. As designed phase two will double output to 1,200 tonnes/day by early 2028 with the project scheduled to reach full capacity of 1.1 million tons/year of green ammonia by 2030. Looking to capture a significant share of the growing global low-carbon ammonia markets, Hygenco and Ameropa said they are planning to start exporting green ammonia to Europe and Asia with a key focus on establishing a reliable supply chain. Currently Hygenco is the only Indian company with an operational commercial green hydrogen plant, and it plans to invest $2.5 billion in green hydrogen and green ammonia projects in the next three years. “Inspired by the age-old philosophy that the world is one family, we are proud to announce a visionary partnership with Ameropa to support their decarbonization goals,” said Amit Bansal, Hygenco Green Energies CEO. “This term sheet highlights India’s exceptional position to lead globally in this sector, by harnessing its abundant renewable energy resources and strong infrastructure.” India has a target of producing 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen by 2030 and if this is achieved the country is poised to then become a major exporter of green ammonia. For Ameropa, this opportunity is seen as being pivotal to help them make low-impact fertilizers and grow sustainable agricultural practices as well as significantly enhance the company's indirect emissions reduction. “The Swiss trader has decided to support Hygenco's well-advanced plans while nurturing the ambition of a global portfolio of low-carbon ammonia,” said Beat Ruprecht, Ameropa Head of Ammonia.

26-Jun-2024

SAO PAULO (ICIS)–Brazil’s chemicals producers, represented by trade group Abiquim, have gotten on board with peer groups and trade unions in their lobbying for higher import tariffs for dozens of products as the government’s decision looms. Led by Abiquim, a total of 28 trade groups, trade unions, industrial development groups, one professional association and one company have signed a manifesto pleading for higher import tariffs to safeguard an industry which, in their view, is being threatened by lower priced imports which are produced with lower environmental standards. “The Brazilian chemicals input production chain, fundamental to the country's economic and technological development, faces unprecedented challenges that threaten its very existence and the future of sustainable solutions for Brazilian industry,” said the manifesto. “Ensuring measures to protect the trade balance is vital to maintain the operation of the chemical chain and attract new investments.” In May, chemicals producers – via Abiquim but also as individual companies – proposed increasing tariffs in more than 100 chemicals, most of them from 12.6% to 20%, in a public consultation held by the Brazil’s government body the Chamber of Foreign Commerce (Camex). A decision is expected in August as the latest. Other trade groups in the chemicals chain, such as Abiplast, representing plastics transformers, do not support higher tariffs as most of their members import product to meet their demand, and are doing their own lobbying not to increase tariffs. ABIQUIM LOBBYING GETS PARTNERSAs well as Abiquim, other trade groups within chemicals signed the document, such the Brazilian Association of Alkali, Chlorine, and Derivatives Industry (Abiclor); the Brazilian Association of Fine Chemical, Biotechnology and Specialty Industries (Abifina); and the Brazilian Association of Artificial and Synthetic Fiber Producers (Abrafas) also signed the document. In total, 11 trade groups and 12 trade unions signed the document, as well as industrial development groups and other players in the chemicals chain. See bottom for full list of signatories. The backing of the unions is important because it is likely to resonate in the corridors of power in Brasilia, where the left-leaning government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva got into office thanks in part to the votes of the industrial workers constituency who voted for Lula’s Workers Party (PT) in 2023 under the promise of more and better paid industrial jobs. “The Brazilian chemicals input production chain, fundamental to the country's economic and technological development, faces unprecedented challenges that threaten its very existence and the future of sustainable solutions for Brazilian industry. Ensuring measures to protect the trade balance is vital to maintain the operation of the chemical chain and attract new investments,” said the manifesto. “What we are witnessing by allowing a surge in imports of products without environmental commitments is the failure to comply with a global agenda, with negative contributions to the fight against climate change.” As the left-leaning Lula cabinet aims to increase public spending, the manifesto also touches on Abiquim’s calculations in the decrease in tax receipts by the Brazilian Treasury in 2023, as a consequence of lower imports – the trade group said the state’s receipts decreased during that year by Brazilian reais (R) 8.0 billion ($1.45 billion). “[The decrease in tax receipts] directly impacts investments in the production sector and in several other areas of public policy. Continuing to allow the unbridled entry of chemical products is a paradox for the policy that Brazil has planned in the context of neo-industrialization, while imports already account for 50% of demand in the chemicals industry,” said the manifesto. “Because of this, some plants are idle, with preventive maintenance anticipated, while others are hibernating plants. And this affects not only the production of chemical inputs, but an entire broad supply chain of raw materials, services, and energy supply related to the sector.” The Abiquim-led manifesto was also signed by several trade unions in some of Brazil’s key petrochemicals hubs, such the Chemists Union of Sao Paulo; the Union of Chemical Industries of Rio Grande do Sul (Sindiquim), and the Union of workers in the chemical, petrochemical, plastic and pharmaceutical industries of the State of Bahia (Sindiquímica Bahia). According to Abiquim’s figures, Brazil’s chemicals production and related chain employs around 2 million workers, representing 12% of the country’s industrial GDP. Earlier in June, the director general at Abiquim said in an interview with ICIS that the request for higher tariffs was only one of the proposals presented to the government to safeguard producers' global competitiveness. “What we have presented to the government is the need to undertake action on three main fronts: in the short term, import tariffs, but in the medium and long term we also need a structural plan to address natural gas prices, which are seven times higher in Brazil than in some other jurisdictions, as well as a stimulus plan covering the whole chemicals production chain,” said Andre Passos. The list of signatories to the manifesto also includes one company, one professional association, and two industrial development groups: TRADE GROUPS 1. Chemical Industry Association (Abiquim) 2. Association of Piped Gas Distribution Companies (Abegas) 3. Association of Alkali, Chlorine, and Derivatives Industry (Abiclor) 4. Association of Fine Chemical, Biotechnology and Specialty Industries (Abifina) 5. Association of Pharmaceutical Inputs Industry (Abiquifi) 6. Association of Glass Industries (Abividro) 7. Association of Independent Oil and Gas Producers (ABPIP) 8. Association of Artificial and Synthetic Fiber Producers (Abrafas) 9. Association of Campos Elíseos Companies (Assecampe) 10. Association of Natural Gas Pipeline Transportation Companies (Atgás) 11. Federation of Industries of the State of Alagoas (FIEA) TRADE UNIONS 12. Federation of Chemical Workers of the CUT of the State of Sao Paulo (Fetquim – CUT SP) 13. Single Federation of Oil Workers (FUP) 14. Unified Chemical Union 15. Chemists Union of Sao Paulo 16. Plastic and Paint Industries Union of the State of Alagoas (Sinplast-AL) 17. Industry Union of Chemical Products for Industrial Purposes of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Siquirj) 18. Industry Union of Chemical Products for Industrial Purposes, Petrochemicals and Synthetic Resins of Camaçari, Candeias and Dias D'Avila (Sinpeq) 19. Industry Union of Chemical Products Chemicals for Industrial and Petrochemical Purposes in the State of Sao Paulo (Sinproquim) 20. Union of Chemical Industries of Rio Grande do Sul (Sindiquim) 21. Union of Chemists of ABC (Sao Paulo state region) 22. Union of workers in the chemical, petrochemical, plastic and pharmaceutical industries of the State of Bahia (Sindiquímica Bahia) 23. Union of Workers in the Chemical, Pharmaceutical and Fertilizer Industries of Baixada Santista (coastal Sao Paulo area) 24. National Confederation of the Chemical Branch of CUT (CNQ-CUT) INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT GROUPS 25. Camacari Industrial Development Committee (Cofic) 26. Industrial Development of the Rio Grande do Sul Pole (Cofip RS) PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS 27. Federal Council of Chemistry (CFQ) COMPANIES 28. Forca Quimica ($1 = R5.51)

26-Jun-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Global ammonia marketer Mitsui announced it has agreed with partners to commence construction of an ammonia production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The project involves the construction of an ammonia production facility in Al Ruwais which is scheduled to start in 2027. It is planned to produce 1 million short tons per year of ammonia with lower carbon emissions compared to conventional supply. To achieve the reductions there will be additional facilities installed in the plant to capture and store levels emitted in the manufacturing process, with plans to begin production of clean ammonia by 2030. Mitsui said it will also offtake a certain volume of the clean ammonia for supplying Japan and other Asian markets for use in fuel applications, chemical and fertilizer feedstock applications, and other industries. The other partners involved in this project are TA'ZIZ, owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Fertiglobe, and South Korea's GS Energy Corporation.

25-Jun-2024