Tag: Urea

Ammonia pricing in the US Mid-West stood at $625/st f.o.b. in February, with applications to field continuing to ramp up. Prices in the US Gulf remain pegged in the low-to-mid$400s/t f.o.b. Recent production outages in the region have largely subsided, though an unexpectedly early uptick in seasonal demand from local buyers is likely to provide a degree of price support moving forward. The Tampa ammonia settlement for March has been settled by Yara and Mosaic at a $445/t c.fr rollover, largely in line with market expectations. The North American market remains detached from the considerably more oversupplied global ammonia scene.

Ammonia prices are expected to remain soft moving through January with little in the way of price support from both a supply and demand perspective. Weakened global sentiment was characterised by news of January’s Tampa settlement $100/t down on December at $525/t CFR, with further declines anticipated in Q1 once the Gulf Coast Ammonia (GCA) project comes online. Traders returned to their desks in the New Year and ammonia prices extended losses amid a stable supply outlook and a distinct lack of downstream industrial and fertilizer demand.

Ammonia prices are expected to remain soft moving through January into February, with little in the way of price support from both a supply and demand perspective. January’s Tampa settlement was $100/t down on December at $525/t CFR.

In spite of nearly two years of western sanctions, Russian exports of nitrogen fertilizer have recovered almost to pre-war levels, while high prices led to record earnings in 2022.

Today some 75% of all urea plants worldwide operate a prilling tower as the solidification and finishing technology. A prilling tower is a large hollow concrete tower in which concentrated urea melt is sprayed from the top via a rotating bucket or static shower heads. The urea melt droplets cool and solidify while falling down some 70-100 m. The heat is removed by ambient air flowing upwards either as a natural draft due to the temperature increase or forced by means of air blowers.

The Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) has entered into a partnership with Metso and thyssenkrupp Uhde to develop and license an integrated process to reduce carbon emissions and recycle phosphogypsum in Saudi Arabia. A framework agreement between the three partners was jointly announced on 10th January.

Urea: December began on a positive note with a flurry of Egyptian urea sales and firmer prices for delivery to Brazil. The increase in values was short lived, however, and piecemeal demand in Europe was insufficient to halt the downward trend. By mid-December, buying interest from Brazil had fizzled out, although sellers breathed a sigh of relief when India’s NFL floated a new import tender on 21st December.

Granulation technology generates a premium urea end-product in large volumes capable of withstanding lengthy storage and extreme shipping conditions. Prilling technology, meanwhile, given its typically lower investment cost, can be an attractive option for smaller-scale urea producers supplying local markets. Stamicarbon’s Dr Wilfried Dirkx, Ahmed Shams and Branislav Manic explore the technology options for urea finishing.

New regulatory developments in Europe are focusing attention on eliminating microplastic residues in soils by adopting biodegradable fertilizer coatings. Major technology licensors and engineering companies are also developing new coating technologies for controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs).

More than 700 delegates from 300 companies and 55 countries gathered at the EPIC SANA Lisboa Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal, 17-19 October 2023, for the Argus Fertilizer Europe 2023 conference.