Incitec Pivot in Saudi Ammonia Nitrate Venture
Australia’s Incitec Pivot Ltd (IPL) has entered into a joint venture with Saudi Arabia’s Modern Chemicals Company (MCC) to build the Kingdom’s first technical-grade ammonium nitrate plant. The companies did not reveal the size of their stakes in the venture.
MCC is developing a 300,000 t/y facility in Ras Al Khair Industrial City in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. The Riyadh-based company said the project will provide backward integration by securing competitive long-term domestic supply of the feedstock required for producing civil explosives for the region’s mining industry.
The companies entered into a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this year and have been jointly undertaking feasibility works for several months, including “significantly advancing” front-end engineering and design (FEED) activities with German group Thyssenkrupp.
“This project has the potential to greatly extend IPL’s global reach and is in support of our strategic agenda for the EMEA region,” said IPL managing director and CEO Jeanne Johns.
IPL added that the formation of a joint venture will expedite key project development processes through completing the FEED and a definitive bankable feasibility study sufficient for financing institutions like the Saudi Industrial Development Fund and other stakeholders. The companies not disclose a timescale for the project.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
