Nitrogen & Methanol articles from January 2005

Nitrogen & Methanol archives from January 2005

The unstoppable rise of the Middle East.(EDITORIAL)
January 1, 2005... This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Arab Fertilizer Association's conferences--the organisation's 11th annual conference is being held this February in Cairo. As the organisation reaches this milestone, it is perhaps an apt time to...

Production shutdowns keep prices high.(AMMONIA)
January 1, 2005... At the start of November, failures of ammonia production at OPZ, Gorlovka and Asmidal in Algeria kept Yuzhnyy rates firm. Prices climbed from $255/t f.o.b. to $275/t. US demand was a major factor supporting the Yuzhnyy price, and high natural...

Market falls on slackening demand.(UREA)
January 1, 2005... November saw major falls in the price of urea, with Yuzhnyy rates dropping $20/t in one week alone. Slack demand from Latin America and lack of buying interest from Asia put prices in all regions into a steady decline, with the exception...

Strong derivative demand keeps prices buoyant.(METHANOL)
January 1, 2005... The January contract gas reference price was settled early in the month, at $5.90/mmBtu for Texas, and $6.38/mmBtu for Louisiana, down $1.28 from December. There have been no particular surprises in either supply or demand recently, although...

Coffeyville plans major overseas expansion.(TRINIDAD & TOBAGO)
January 1, 2005... Coffeyville Resources, which last year bought a refinery and fertilizer plant in Coffeyville, Kansas from bankrupt US fertilizer producer Farmland Industries, has announced that it intends to initiate a major expansion project in Trinidad. The...

Trinidadian partners to build urea, melamine capacity.(TRINIDAD & TOBAGO)
January 1, 2005... In addition to the Coffeyville project, some of the partners in the Caribbean Nitrogen Company are now planning to build new ammonia capacity as well as downstream urea and melamine production. The new venture, called Caribbean Petrochemical...

Henrik Topsoe to be presented with catalysis award.(DENMARK)
January 1, 2005... Dr. Henrik Topsoe, founder of Haldor Topsoe A/S, has been awarded the 2005 Eugene J. Houdry Award in Applied Catalysis. The award is given to a person who is recognized for his contributions in the field of catalysis, with emphasis on the...

TFI releases technology brochure.(UNITED STATES)
January 1, 2005... The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) has released a booklet titled Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizer. In it, various advances in fertilization are introduced, explained and detailed. Drawing on various research studies, the Institute outlines key...

Uhde receives environmental award.(GERMANY)
January 1, 2005... Uhde has been awarded second prize (the EEP Silver Award) by the European Environmental Press for development of its new EnviNOx technology. The prize is awarded by 13 leading European environmental magazines on an annual basis for innovations...

New nitric acid plant goes on-stream.(FINLAND)
January 1, 2005... Kemira GrowHow has completed installation of its T4 nitric acid plant, which was shipped from Ireland to Uusikaupunki in September last year; operational testing and trial runs are now underway. The new plant will produce approximately 300,000...

SPIC finally gets gas for Jebel Ali.(UNITED ARAB EMIRATES)
January 1, 2005... Indian firm Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation has finally secured a gas supply for its fertilizer plant at Jebel Ali. The plant, which was relocated from Sri Lanka and revamped at a cost of $190m, has been sitting idle for five...

Farmers accuse Profertil of abusing market power.(ARGENTINA)
January 1, 2005... Argentinean farmers are accusing Profertil of using its near monopoly position to sell its granular urea at substantially higher prices domestically compared to export values. The farmers' complaints not only have been picked up in local media,...

Agrium still has Australian ambitions.(AUSTRALIA)
January 1, 2005... Although stymied in its plans to be involved in the Dampier Nitrogen ammonia-urea project, Agrium has been allocated a new piece of land on the Burrup Peninsula by the Western Australian government, and is still aiming to develop nitrogen...

Uhde to build new nitrogen complex.(EGYPT)
January 1, 2005... Uhde is reportedly to build a fourth ammonia and granular urea complex in Egypt. According to local reports, the German engineering company will construct a 400,000 t/a ammonia and 635,000 t/a granular urea complex for the Al Mansora Fertilizer...

New EPC contractor for Sohar.(OMAN)
January 1, 2005... Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has replaced Uhde as engineering, procurement and construction contractor on the Sohar ammonia-urea project, following months of legal wrangling. Sohar said in a press statement that the sharp appreciation in the...

Toulouse blast blamed on contamination.(FRANCE)
January 1, 2005... A report on the September 2001 explosion at the Grande Paroisse ammonium nitrate (AN) storage facility in Toulouse has blamed contamination of the AN with chlorine derivatives, possibly from cleaning products. Ammonium nitrate becomes unstable...

Government ends VAT rebate on exports.(CHINA)
January 1, 2005... The Chinese government has announced the removal of the 11% value added tax (VAT) rebate on urea and DAP exports from 1 January 2005. The measures, long-awaited by the fertilizer industry, remain unclear in some respects. However, the removal...

Iffco plans major debottlenecking.(INDIA)
January 1, 2005... The Indian Farmers Fertilizer Collective (Iffco) is to debottleneck four of its ammonia-urea units, at Phulpur and Aonla, raising capacity by 510,000 t/a at a cost of $105m. The Phulpur 1 plant will be expanded from 550,000 t/a to 685,000 t/a,...

Johnson Matthey Catalysts(JMC).(UNITED KINGDOM)
January 1, 2005... Johnson Matthey Catalysts (JMC) has carried out a [pounds sterling]2.5m expansion at its Polymer Catalyst Business Unit at Billingham, UK to cope with increased demand for its Vertec product range of organic titanates, used in the polymer...

Terra mothballs Beaumont plant.(UNITED STATES)
January 1, 2005... Terra Industries has closed down its Beaumont methanol plant in Texas, following Methanex taking up an option to cease production there. Methanex bought the rights to the next five years of methanol production from the Beaumont plant in...

Construction begins on LNG terminals.(UNITED STATES)
January 1, 2005... With the US soon to be facing a major shortfall in natural gas, construction work has begun on one LNG terminal aimed at the US market, although it is in fact over the border in Nova Scotia, Canada. The 7.5m t/a Bear Head terminal, being...

Methanol for Egypt.(EGYPT)
January 1, 2005... Methanex is planning a $500m, 1.3m t/a methanol plant for Egypt, with Methanex taking a 60% stake and local companies the remainder. The Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company has already announced that it intends to take the 40% stake....

Detailed negotiations begin.(BRUNEI)
January 1, 2005... The government of Brunei has begun detailed negotiations with Japanese partners Itochu and Mitsubishi Gas Chemical over the construction of a methanol unit at the Sungai Liang Industrial Park. The two companies had previously completed a...

Hydrogen and carbon monoxide plants for Bayer.(GERMANY)
January 1, 2005... The Linde technology group has concluded a 15-year agreement with Bayer MaterialScience AG to supply hydrogen and carbon monoxide to Bayer's sites at Dormagen, Leverkusen, and Uerdingen. Linde will finance, erect, and operate a hydrogen and...

Toyo in OMC project.(OMAN)
January 1, 2005... Toyo Engineering has signed an engineering contract with the Oman Methanol Company (OMC) to provide the process design package for the company's 3,000 t/d methanol plant to be constructed at Sohar Industrial Port Area. OMC is a joint venture...

EPC award expected soon for Qafac II.(QATAR)
January 1, 2005... More contracts have been awarded on the giant Qafac II methanol project for Mesaieed, Qatar. Mustang Tampa of the US has won the front end engineering and design contract, licensing technology from Lurgi, who announced their winning technology...

GTL schemes progressing.(QATAR)
January 1, 2005... As well as LNG and now methanol, Qatar is also the site of numerous gas to liquids (GTL) project proposals. One of these, a joint venture between Shell and Qatar Petroleum, has now progressed to an invitation to tender. The Pearl GTL scheme, as...

Lurgi selected for Tasnee-Acetex complex.(SAUDI ARABIA)
January 1, 2005... Lurgi has been awarded the contract to supply its methanol technology to the $1bn Tasnee-Acetex petrochemical complex in Jubail. The complex is to include a 1.8m t/a methanol plant, as well as a 500,000 t/a acetic acid plant and 275,000 t/a...

Bidding to close soon on Ar-Razi V.(SAUDI ARABIA)
January 1, 2005... The EPC contract for the new Saudi Methanol Company (Ar Razi) methanol unit at Jubail is due to be awarded in the next months. Two companies are currently in the running to take the contract to build the $450m, 1.5m t/a plant; Lurgi and...

Yukos--nearly--falls to Gazprom.(RUSSIA)
January 1, 2005... The saga of what was once Russia's largest oil producer grows more murky by the day. Yukos, which had produced 20% of Russia's oil, has now lost 60% of its production capacity after it was forced to sell its Yuganskneftegaz division by auction...

Gas price rise.(INDIA)
January 1, 2005... The Indian government plans to increase gas prices for industrial and commercial users to $3.20/mmBtu, a significant increase on the current subsidised rate of around $1.80/mmBtu, as part of moves to liberalise the country's gas market and...

Gas from Burma?(INDIA)
January 1, 2005... Meanwhile the Indian government continues to scramble to find new sources of supply to fill the growing demand in the country for natural gas. LNG projects abound, but Shell is currently in dispute with the government over restrictive practises...

Kharg Island up-rated.(IRAN)
January 1, 2005... Bidders for the proposed Kharg Island methanol project have been advised by the Iranian government to submit revised proposals for a larger, 1.5m t/a plant, twice the size of the previous tender. There are currently four bidding consortia for...

More methanol and derivatives.(CHINA)
January 1, 2005... In spite of warnings of overcapacity, China's appetite for new methanol and derivatives projects seems to be unabated. The Shaanxi Yulin Natural Gas Chemical Company has announced the completion of its new 200,000 t/a methanol unit, almost...

Ammonia pipeline changes hands again.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... Ammonia pipeline changes hands again. The 2,000 mile anhydrous ammonia pipeline sold two years ago by Koch to Kaneb for $140m has changed hands again. It forms part of the assets of Kaneb which have been acquired by Valero for $2.8bn, creating...

Fine for El Paso.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... Fine for El Paso. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined El Paso Energy $50,000 for failure to immediately notify the agency of an ammonia leak at the Coastal St Helens Chemical Company in Oregon--at the time owned by El...

MissChem to sell ammonia plant.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... MissChem to sell ammonia plant. Bankrupt US fertilizer giant Mississippi Chemicals is planning to sell off its Yazoo City 4 ammonia plant to an undisclosed buyer, according to reports. The 160,000 t/a plant does not form part of the MissChem...

Bids in for Shiraz expansion.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... Bids in for Shiraz expansion. Two consortia are bidding to upgrade the existing ammonia and urea trains at the Shiraz Petrochemical Company in Iran. The bidders for the $300m upgrade are Kawasaki Heavy Industries, partnered by local firm...

Pequiven to reactivate El Tablazo.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... Pequiven to reactivate El Tablazo. High ammonia prices have induced Pequiven to restart its idled ammonia-urea unit at El Tablazo, which had been closed for four years due to feedstock constraints. The 150,000 t/a facility will be back...

Gases for steel group.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... Gases for steel group. The Linde technology group has concluded a supply agreement with the largest steel manufacturer in Australia, BlueScope Steel Ltd., covering the on-site provision of oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and hydrogen. The agreement...

New US LNG terminal to open.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... New US LNG terminal to open. The Excelerate Energy Company will receive its first LNG cargo at the new Gulf Gateway Deepwater Port in the Gulf of Mexico in March, according to reports. The delivery will mark the first LNG cargo to arrive at a...

First onshore terminal given go-ahead.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... First onshore terminal given go-ahead. In separate new, the first new onshore US LNG terminal has also been awarded its final permits. The Freeport LNG terminal will be constructed by Technip with Italy's Saipem and a local US firm. The...

New methanol unit for China.(NEWS IN BRIEF)
January 1, 2005... New methanol unit for China. The Dongsheng district government in Inner Mongolia has signed an agreement to consutrct a 1.0m t/a methanol complex with Huajian Energy Chemical Company. The project will be constructed in two phases with a total...

Kemira.(People)
January 1, 2005... Kemira has appointed Pekka Ojanpaa as executive vice president for procurement and logistics with effect from January 2005. His responsibilities will include strategic planning and leadership within the logistics sector. He joins the company...

Steve Hoffman.(People)
January 1, 2005... Steve Hoffman has stepped down as head of North American phosphate marketing consortium PhosChem, and also as senior vice president with Mosaic. Hoffman worked for 31 years with IMC Global (IGL), and had been head of PhosChem since the...

The UK Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC).(People)
January 1, 2005... The UK Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) has re-elected Richard Banks of Banks Cargill Agriculture as chairman and David Hutchinson of HL Hutchinson as treasurer. Paul Thompson of Terra Industries has been elected as vice-chairman,...

Diary.(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... February 1-3 AFA 11th International Conference, Cairo, Egypt. Contact: AFA, P.O. Box 8109 Nasr City 11371, Cairo, Egypt. Tel: +20 2 4172347. Fax: +20 2 4173721. Email: info@afa.com.eg February 27-March 2 ...

Romania's nitrogen and methanol industries: with one of the largest fertilizer and methanol industries in eastern Europe, Romania has had to adapt to the changing circumstances produced by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. That process is however still not complete.
January 1, 2005... Romania is the only major natural gas producer in eastern Europe, which has helped to insulate its fertilizer and methanol industries from some of the problems elsewhere following the fall of communism. However, ageing plants with poor...

Making hay while the sun shines: at the World Methanol Conference in Barcelona last December, the current run of high prices was overshadowed by looming industry overcapacity.
January 1, 2005... Last December the 22nd World Methanol Conference and Exhibition was held at the Hilton Barcelona in Spain. This has been another good year for the methanol industry, with prices continuing to remain high and demand strong, but now that the...

A balancing act: matching the grade of energy recovered in some stages to the heating and power requirements of others is crucial to the overall economics of the ammonia plant.
January 1, 2005... In the early days, owing mainly to technological limitations on the size of pressure vessels and machinery, large ammonia plants comprised multiple parallel streams. Each stage in the process was run virtually as a separate factory, with its...

Down to the wire: the surface characteristics and the geometry of the platinum-rhodium wire are all important in determining the selectivity and durability of the ammonia oxidation catalyst gauze.
January 1, 2005... Right from the start, the process for producing nitric acid from ammonia has used platinum as the ammonia oxidation catalyst. Although the catalytic effect of platinum on the oxidation of ammonia was first discovered by Kuhlmann in 1839, the...