Abu Dhabi's state-owned Adnoc, in partnership with fertilizer producer Fertiglobe, has sold its first blue ammonia cargo to Japanese trading company Itochu for use in fertilizer production.
Fertiglobe, a joint venture between Adnoc and Dutch fertilizer producer OCI, will produce blue ammonia at its Fertil plant in Ruwais for delivery to Adnoc's customers in Japan. The plant produces 1.2mn t/yr of ammonia.
The shipments were "sold at an attractive premium to grey ammonia", which "underscores the favourable economics for blue ammonia as an emerging source of low-carbon energy", Adnoc said. This represents 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 programme at Fertil.
"Today's announcement builds on Adnoc's commitment to expand 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," Adnoc chief executive Sultan al-Jaber said. "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," he said.
Blue ammonia is produced in the same way as grey, or conventional, ammonia, but with the by-product CO2 captured and stored.
The sale follows the signing of an agreement between Adnoc and two Japanese companies in July to jointly study the commercial potential of blue ammonia production in the UAE.
Fertiglobe has joined Adnoc's plans to develop a 1mn t/yr blue ammonia facility at the Ruwais industrial hub, part of the Ta'ziz chemicals venture. It will use nitrogen and natural gas combined alongside carbon capture technology. The final investment decision for the project is expected in 2022, with start-up in 2025.
