The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Fertiglobe have together sold their first cargo of blue ammonia to Itochu in Japan, to be used in fertilizer production.
Fertiglobe, a 58:42 partnership between OCI and ADNOC, will produce blue ammonia at its Fertil plant in the Ruwais Industrial Complex in Abu Dhabi for delivery to ADNOC’s customers in Japan. The shipments, which were sold at an attractive premium to grey ammonia, underscore the favourable economics for blue ammonia as an emerging source of low-carbon energy.
They represent the first production milestone of a planned scale-up of blue ammonia production capabilities in Abu Dhabi, which is expected to include a low-cost debottlenecking program at Fertil. In addition, it was announced in June that Fertiglobe will join ADNOC and ADQ as a partner in a new 1 million metric tons per annum blue ammonia project at TA’ZIZ in Ruwais, subject to regulatory approvals.
The sale builds upon recently announced joint efforts to enhance industrial cooperation between the UAE and Japan and support the development of new UAE-Japan blue ammonia supply chains.
ADNOC has a long history of responsible operations and proactive carbon management. The company’s emissions intensity per barrel is amongst the lowest in the industry, and it was an early leader in implementing a zero routine flaring policy three decades ago. ADNOC is also an early pioneer in the emerging market for hydrogen and its carrier fuels, such as blue ammonia, driving the UAE’s leadership in creating international hydrogen value chains and a local hydrogen ecosystem.
Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, said: “This announcement builds upon ADNOC’s commitment to expanding the UAE’s position as a regional leader in the production of hydrogen and its carrier fuels, meeting the needs of critical global export markets such as Japan. Through the expansion of our capabilities across the blue ammonia value chain, we look forward to furthering our legacy as one of the world’s least carbon intensive hydrocarbon producers and supporting industrial decarbonisation with a competitive low-carbon product portfolio.”
Masaya Tanaka, Executive Officer of Itochu Corporation, President of the Energy & Chemicals Company and COO of the Power & Environmental Solution Division, added: “We are pleased that Itochu, a leading general trading company in Japan, is contributing to a low-carbon society together with ADNOC. Starting with this trial of blue ammonia for fertiliser applications, we aim to create a wide range of ammonia value chains for existing industrial applications as well as future energy use.”
Nassef Sawiris, Executive Chairman of OCI NV and CEO of Fertiglobe, commented: “I am pleased that Fertiglobe is growing its low-carbon production capabilities in partnership with ADNOC.
“As a result of decarbonising the feedstock supply, we can materially reduce the carbon intensity of our downstream customers along the value chain and across a wide range of industries. We are pleased to leverage the Fertiglobe and ADNOC platforms to help decarbonise our production and customers’ footprints, while creating value to shareholders, a win-win across the board. This project shows that Fertiglobe is on track to become a global leader in low-carbon solutions.”
Fertiglobe is the world’s largest seaborne exporter of nitrogen fertilisers, and its Fertil plant is one of the largest regional fertiliser producers with production capacity of 1.2 million metric tons of ammonia and 2.1 million metric tons of urea. The ammonia that Fertil produces is typically considered as ‘grey’ ammonia, but the plant will be fitted with CO2 liquefaction units, and CO2 will be transferred to – and reinjected into – underground reservoirs by the ADNOC Al Reyadah carbon capture and storage plant to facilitate the production of blue ammonia.
Ammonia can be used as a low-carbon fuel across a wide range of industrial applications, including transportation, power generation, refining and industries including steel, wastewater treatment, cement and fertiliser production. For Japan, in particular, hydrogen and its carrier fuels, such as blue ammonia, are expected to play an important role in the country’s ongoing industrial decarbonisation efforts.
