Nitrogen & Methanol articles from July 2001

Nitrogen & Methanol archives from July 2001

New beginnings for Gazprom?(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The upcoming Gazprom AGM promises to be one of the stormiest in recent years, as the Russian government continues its efforts to rein in what it sees as an increasingly wayward and difficult monopoly. Gazprom remains essentially the...

Market bounces due to plant shutdowns.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... There was no let-up in sliding ammonia prices during April. Dramatic falls were seen in all major markets, with the US again setting the pace and seemingly acting as swing producer. Although US gas prices were slightly lower than expected,...

Prices dip on weak demand.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Urea prices weakened at the start of April on thin international demand. Yuzhnyy prices dipped below $95/t f.o.b., which had been a floor price for the past six months, falling below $80/t at the end of April and reaching a low of $77. In the...

US gas prices keep prices high.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... May contract natural gas prices for the US Gulf Coast were settled early in the month, with the calculated average for Texas and Louisiana at $4.97/mmBtu, representing a decrease of $0.47 from April's contract price of $5.44/ mmBtu. While this...

More delays for Omifco.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Financial closure of the troubled Oman-India Fertilizer Company (Omifco) has now been postponed to October. The $1,000m joint venture, between Indian partners Krishak Bharati Cooperative (Kribhco) and the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Collective...

Urea exports hit as Aceh remains down (INDONESIA).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Concerns over security in Indonesia's troubled Aceh province continue to keep ExxonMobil's onshore gas fields -- Arun, Pase and South Lhoksukon -- shut down, and the knock-on effect is continuing to be felt in downstream sectors, including...

Kemira restructuring continues (FINLAND).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... As part of the company's ongoing restructuring of its European operations, Kemira Agro is to relocate its 300,000 t/a nitric acid plant from the Rosenburg site in the Netherlands, which is closing, to the company's Tertre site in Belgium. Some...

Semadco to revamp Suez AN plant (EGYPT).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Egypt's El Nasr Company for Chemicals and Fertilizers (Semadco) has issued a tender for the renovation of its AN plant in Suez City. The work will increase plant output from the current 230,000 t/a to 330,000 t/a. The work will be part financed...

Ukraine offers to cut a deal on AN dumping (UNITED STATES).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Ukrainian government has offered a ceiling on AN exports to the United States if the latter will end its investigation into alleged 'dumping' of the fertilizer on the US market. The offer mirrors a deal which the US came to with Russia last...

Anti-dumping measures extended (EUROPEAN UNION).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The European Union has extended two sets of anti-dumping measures for a further five years. The measures relate to urea imports from Russia and UAN solutions from Poland. The Russian measure is an [epsilon]115/t minimum import price, while...

Profits rebound at Qafco.(Qatar Fertiliser Company SAQ)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Qatar Fertilizer Company (Qafco) has posted profits of 246.9m Riyals ($69m) for 2000, up from Riyal 65.5m ($18m) in 1999. Qafco has said that higher product prices, particularly for urea, have been responsible for the surge in...

Vopak sales up after merger.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Dutch shipping and logistics company Vopak has announced sales of [epsilon]4.1bn ($3.8bn) for 2000, its first full year of operation. The two constituent companies, Pakhoed and Van Ommeren had combined sales of [epsilon]3.5bn in 1999.

MissChem makes 3Q loss.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Mississippi Chemicals has announced a loss of $22m for the nine months ending March 3 1st. However, company officials said that a strategy of producing downstream products using cheaper imported ammonia and higher domestic prices should lead to...

Hydro Agri income up.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Hydro Agri's operating income for Q1 2001 was Krone 919m ($103m), almost double that for the corresponding period of 2000. The company is continuing with its radical restructuring programme, and has shaved Krone 1.75bn from the fixed costs of...

PCS sees fall in Q1 income.(Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS) saw income fall slightly for 1Q 2001 in spite of higher prices for products. Net income for the quarter was $62.4m, down from $71.6m for the same period in 2000. A late domestic application season in the...

New import regulations (VIETNAM).(fertilizers)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... As part of a package of relaxations of import and export controls in order to boost trade, the Vietnamese government has changed its regulations on import of fertilizers, removing quotas. With effect from May 1st, any enterprise licensed to...

More fertilizer aid from the South (NORTH KOREA).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... South Korea has agreed to provide another 200,000 tonnes of fertilizer aid to North Korea on humanitarian grounds. North Korea has projected that it will be able to produce only 45% of its 620,000 tonne requirement for fertilizer this year....

Agrium earnings rise (CANADA).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Agrium's net earnings for Q1 2001 were up at $7m, after posting a loss of $4m in 1Q 2000. The improved situation is in part due to the purchase of the Kenai fertilizer complex in Alaska and the commissioning of Profertil in Argentina.

Toyo awarded urea contract (IRAN).(National Petrochemical Company of Iran)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... The National Petrochemical Co of Iran has awarded the $195m contract to build its 1,070,000 t/a ammonia-urea complex at Bandar Assaluyeh to a Toyo-led consortium which also includes Chiyoda and local engineering firm PIDEC. The plant will use...

Gazprom extends stake (RUSSIA).(in Korovo-Chepetsk Chemical Enterprises)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Gas producer Gazprom has extended its 22% share of fertilizer group Kirovo-Chepetsk. The company has been increasing its stake in the Russian fertilizer industry as a way of improving payment for nature gas

Methanex confirms Darwin for "syngas factory".(Darwin, Australia)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Methanex has confirmed that Darwin will be the site for its new mammoth 'syngas factory' development. As well as a 5,000 t/d methanol plant, other downstream products are reportedly under consideration at Darwin, including methanol to olefins...

New LNG plants for Darwin, Karratha.(liquefied natural gas, Australia)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... As well as the methanol/syngas development, Darwin in the Northern Territories has also been selected as a site for an LNG export terminal. Philips Petroleum will build the US$3-3.5bn plant, whose final size has yet to be finalised. US-based El...

GTL plant proceeding.(gas to liquids)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Syntroleum says that it has completed front end engineering on its Sweetwater gas to liquids (GTL) project. The plant, whose cost has now been uprated from US$400m to US$500m, aims to use 133 mmBtu of gas per day to produce 10,000 barrels/day...

LNG export plans proceed apace (EGYPT).(liquefied natural gas)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... There are now four LNG projects under development in Egypt, and all seem to be progressing, although some have expressed doubt as to whether there is room for all seven plus LNG trains envisaged. Most recent to declare has been the UK's BG...

Egypt to get MTO facility?(methanol to olefins)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... A feasibility study has been completed on the construction of a 400,000 t/a methanol to olefins (MTO) plant at Suez. The plant could be the first in the world to use the UOP-Norsk Hydro technology. The overall flowsheet will be a gas to...

High gas prices on the way again? (UNITED STATES).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Oil industry analysts are predicting another oil price spike in the second half of 2001. As with last year, this is expected to feed through into higher US gas prices, although US gas demand has fallen since last year as consumers try to switch...

Fuel cell developments proceeding (ICELAND).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Shell, which is part of a consortium aiming to create the world's first "hydrogen economy" in Iceland, says that progress has been made, as evidenced by the recent unveiling of plans for a fleet of three hydrogen powered fuel cell buses and a...

Snamprogetti to build CO plant (IRAN).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Snamprogetti has been chosen to build a 140,000 t/a carbon monoxide plant at Bandar Imam, in conjunction with local engineering firm Sazeh Consultants. The $40m plant will feed the new 180,000 t/a acetic acid plant at the site, to be built by...

Winds of change blowing for Gazprom? (RUSSIA).(new CEO Aleksey Miller)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Gazprom has named Russia's deputy energy minister Aleksey Miller as its new chief executive officer, replacing Rem Vyakhirev. The markets have seen this as positive news for the company, indicating that the Russian government is continuing with...

FEC aims for higher gas prices (RUSSIA).(Russian Federal Energy Commission)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... The Russian Federal Energy Commission is planning to allow gas prices to rise "substantially" over the next decade, reaching $1.50/mmBtu by 2010, from the current figure of $0.45/mmBtu, although the Commission has ruled out fully decontrolling...

Methanol plant shelved (KUWAIT).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... PIC has cancelled a tender for the construction of a new methanol plant at its Shuaiba fertilizer complex, following a lack of a firm offtake agreement. The company says that it has no plans to retender at present. The project would have...

People.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Evind Reiten has taken over as Norsk Hydro's new president and CEO, replacing Egil Myklebust, who has been appointed chairman of the board. Hydro has played down the change, saying that there will be no change in strategic direction for the...

Casale symposium 2001.
July 1, 2001... The Casale Group of companies held a three-day symposium in its home town of Lugano, Switzerland, from May 2lst-23rd this year. Nitrogen & Methanol eavesdropped on proceedings. Around 130 delegates found themselves in the beautiful...

The European perspective.(pollution control)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... The European Union's Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) initiative enshrines a non-adversarial approach to pollution control The molecular species involved in nitrogen fertilizer manufacture (even the products themselves)...

Old plants for new.(nitrogen plants)
July 1, 2001... In future editions we shall present various points of view on the merits and possible demerits of dismantling used nitrogen plants and moving them to other locations. This opening article surveys some of the factors that deserve consideration....

Hydrogen -- great promise for syngas derivative.
July 1, 2001... Although synthesis gas is used for both ammonia and methanol production, the third side of the triangle - that of hydrogen production - is sometimes overlooked. However, with the market for hydrogen steadily increasing, it is sure to become...

By no means a foregone conclusion.(ammonia production and carbon dioxide removal processes)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... The balance between carbon dioxide removal technologies may have shifted a bit in recent years, but all the options are still open. Regardless of the process used, in its raw state ammonia synthesis gas generated from a carbon-containing...

Tank inspection guidelines published (UNITED STATES).(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... The Fertilizer Institute has published guidelines on the safety of large unpressurised storage tanks after several failures of UAN, ammonium thiosulphate etc had caused the spectre of new regulation to rear its head. The guidelines say that new...