Saudi Arabian fertilizer producer Sabic AN's board has signed off on a final investment decision (FID) for its new 2.6mn t/yr urea facility, with commercial production set for the fourth quarter of 2030.
The facility will also include a 1.2mn t/yr ammonia capacity and post-combustion carbon capture unit. Construction is planned to start in the fourth quarter this year, according to a stock exchange filing.
The new facility will boost Sabic AN's annual urea capacity by just over half to 7.4mn t from 4.8mn t. The Saudi energy ministry approved the allocation of gas for the project in late March.
Sabic AN is the sole supplier of urea in Saudi Arabia, producing and typically loading out of Jubail, but the war in the Middle East has forced the supplier to also load from Yanbu on the west coast. The firm ships most of its produced urea abroad, and Argus estimates exports of 4.1mn-4.2mn t last year. Sabic AN announced plans at the start of March to incorporate the Ibn Al-Baytar plant to its existing portfolio, adding slightly under 500,000 t/yr capacity, and bringing its overall urea capacity to just over 4.8mn t/yr, Argus estimates.
There are two major announced urea projects set for completion by 2030 in the Mideast Gulf currently, excluding Iran, with state-owned producer QatarEnergy intending to build a new complex, doubling its urea production capacity to 12.4mn t/yr.
The $3.5bn engineering, procurement and construction contract for the new Sabic AN facility has been awarded to Samsung.
