Under the terms of the contract, Worley will supply in-Kingdom services and JESA will provide out-of-Kingdom services on the design and construction of new process plants in the industrial cities of Wa’ad Al Shamal and Ras Al-Khair in Saudi Arabia.

The plants are part of an integrated greenfield complex that is expected to produce up to 1.5 million t/y of phosphate fertilizers. Worley CEO Chris Ashton said the complex is expected to make Saudi Arabia one of the world’s leading exporters of phosphate fertilizers.

In March last year, Ma’aden loaded the first cargo from its new ammonia berth in Ras Al Khair onto one of four new vessels that had recently joined its fleet. Ma’aden now operates seven vessels, giving it ammonia shipping capacity of 2 million t/y and enabling it to meet increased global demand for fertilizer.

The company also signed four Memoranda of Understanding with Indian businesses last August, seeking to double its exports of phosphate products and ammonia starting in 2023.

Agreements were signed for supplying phosphate products to Indian Potash and ammonia to Gujarat State Fertilizers & Chemicals. Two other MoUs were inked with Krishak Bharati Cooperative and Coromandel International to supply phosphate products and ammonia, and to explore collaborating in multiple growth areas, including product development, agronomy and logistics solutions, as well as jointly developing technology for specialty products.

Ma’aden CEO Robert Wilt said India is the world’s largest import market for ammonia and phosphate. The company has been exporting fertilizers since 2011 to the country, where it currently ships about 1.7 million t/y of phosphate products and ammonia.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist