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Nitrogen+Syngas 364 Mar-Apr 2020

31 March 2020

Nitrogen Project Listing 2020

Nitrogen+Syngas’s annual listing of new ammonia, urea, nitric acid and ammonium nitrate plants shows that the key areas for new project developments are Egypt, India, Nigeria and Russia. The timing of new Iranian capacity remains subject to external sanctions, while other significant projects are under way in China, Brunei and Uzbekistan, and the new ammonia plant for Ma’aden in Ras Al Khair to produce diammonium phosphate. Currently however the number of new projects scheduled for beyond 2021 is relatively small, although a number of the current batch of projects are likely to slip.

Latest in Outlook & Reviews

Nitrogen prices peak – for now

The start of May saw urea prices start to decline from the yearly highs seen in mid-April, as buyers from India, the US, and Europe stayed away from the markets. India is not expected to return with another tender before late May or early June at the earliest, after booking 2.5 million tonnes for shipment through mid-June, covering immediate requirements, and with domestic production having improved and stocks at a healthy level of over 7 million tonnes. In the US, earlier concerns over May shipments have eased, with net import figures not as low as initially feared, and even some re-export of cargoes to Latin America where higher prices can be earned. With the potential for China to return to export sales towards the end of May and start of June, there was at least a hope that the worst of the current price spike may be over.