Ta’ziz said the shareholder agreement highlights the “exceptional international investor interest” in the company and follows recent sales of low-carbon ammonia demonstration cargoes by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (ADNOC) and Fertiglobe to customers in Japan, South Korea and Germany. 

ADNOC and Abu Dhabi holding company ADQ are joint owners of Ta’ziz, which added that the ammonia plant will reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a leader in low-carbon fuels and capitalize on the growing demand for low-carbon ammonia as a carrier fuel for clean hydrogen.

Khaleefa Yousef Al Mheiri, Ta’ziz acting CEO, commented: “This is a significant milestone in the development of our low-carbon ammonia business and further strengthens the UAE’s hydrogen value proposition. We are building on the collective strengths of our partners and shareholders to develop the first-of-its-kind large-scale low-carbon ammonia project in the Middle East and North Africa.

A contract for the initial pre-front-end engineering and design work on the plant was awarded to UK contractor Wood in May 2021. A final investment decision on the project was originally expected last year.

Low-carbon ammonia is made from hydrogen derived from natural gas and nitrogen, with the CO₂ captured and stored. Ammonia can be used as a low-carbon fuel for applications that include transportation and power generation, and in industries, such as steel, cement and fertilizers. 

ADNOC operates Al Reyadah, the region’s first industrial-scale carbon capture, utilization and storage facility, with CO₂ capture capacity of 800,000 t/y.

Ta’ziz said its plans continue to advance at pace, with site preparation underway and strategic agreements signed with Reliance Industries and Shaheen for the development of a world-scale ethylene dichloride, chlor-alkali and PVC facility, and with Proman for a world-scale methanol facility.

The total investment in the first phase of Ta’ziz will be in excess of $5 billion, with most of the chemicals produced in the United Arab Emirates for the first time.

Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist