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Acordo entre Heringer e empresas russas fracassa

  • Spanish Market: Agriculture, Fertilizers
  • 06/01/20

A produtora brasileira de fertilizantes Heringer não conseguiu chegar a um acordo com a Uralkali e a Uralchem a respeito da venda de uma fatia de controle para ambas as empresas russas, encerrando mais de três meses de negociações.

O término das tratativas no final de dezembro ocorreu apenas alguns dias depois de o Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica (Cade) aprovar a transação. Essa havia sido uma etapa necessária para o fechamento do negócio depois que os credores aceitaram o plano de reorganização da empresa, que propôs cortar até 75pc de sua dívida não garantida de R$1,5bilhão.

As empresas russas anunciaram em setembro que haviam concordado em comprar 51,5pc da Heringer, posteriormente adquirindo o restante por meio de um aumento de capital.

Depois que os reguladores aprovaram o plano, a aprovação dos acionistas da Heringer ainda era necessária para se concluir o negócio. A produtora canadense Nutrien possui uma participação de 9,5pc e a OCP, do Marrocos, outros 10pc, dando a cada uma delas o direito de preferência nas ofertas pela empresa brasileira.

No comunicado datado de 27 de dezembro, a Heringer informou que as partes não chegaram a um consenso "não obstante terem envidado os seus melhores esforços para concluir as negociações em termos e condições aceitáveis".

Antes das dificuldades financeiras eclodirem, a Heringer operava mais de 20 misturadoras e uma planta de SSP no Brasil.

Por José Roberto Gomes


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16/07/24

More Egyptian urea production offline: Update

More Egyptian urea production offline: Update

Adds Abu Qir's plant closure Amsterdam, 16 July (Argus) — Egyptian fertilizer firms Kima and Helwan stopped granular urea production today, citing gas shortages, while Abu Qir has halted prilled urea output. Kima's 570,000 t/yr and Helwan's 650,000 t/yr granular urea plants are both offline, having operated at 80pc of capacity since 2 July. Abu Qir's 578,000 t/yr prilled urea plant has also gone off line. It is unclear when the plants will restart, the producers said. Kima's plant is in Aswan and Helwan's is in El-Tebbin-Helwan, while Abu Qir's facility is outside of the port of the same name. Most of the country's remaining urea plants are still operating at 80pc. Mopco is running only two of its three granular urea plants at 80pc, while EFC's production status has yet to be confirmed. A gas supply crunch in Egypt has hampered urea production since 20 May, as the country prioritised gas deliveries to power plants to meet summer cooling demand. But LNG imports eased the balance at the beginning of July. Egypt fixed at least 17 LNG cargoes in a 25 June tender — seven for July, six for August and four for September. The country is seeking to bolster LNG import capacity as gas production falls and domestic demand rises. Urea export offers have yet to emerge as all producers are assessing the market and the majority are likely to initially focus on delivering previously committed volumes for export and to meet local demand. But Argus understands that some traders were offered Egyptian granular urea at $380-390/t fob for loading in late July and early August. No deal has emerged yet. By Dana Hjeij and Harry Minihan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Egypt’s Kima and Helwan stop urea production


16/07/24
16/07/24

Egypt’s Kima and Helwan stop urea production

Amsterdam, 16 July (Argus) — Egyptian fertilizer producers Kima and Helwan stopped urea production today, citing gas cutbacks. Kima's 570,000 t/yr and Helwan's 650,000 t/yr granular urea plants have both gone off line, having operated at 80pc of their respective capacities since 2 July. It is unclear when the plants will return to operation, Egyptian producers said. Kima's plant is located in Aswan, and Helwan's in El-Tebbin-Helwan. Most of the country's remaining urea plants are still operating at 80pc. Mopco is running only two of its three granular urea plants at 80pc of full capacity, while EFC's production status has yet to be confirmed. A gas supply crunch in Egypt has hampered urea production since 20 May, as the country prioritised gas to power plants to meet summer cooling demand. But LNG imports eased the gas market balance at the beginning of July. Egypt fixed at least 17 LNG cargoes in a 25 June tender — seven for July, six for August and four for September. The country is seeking to bolster LNG import capacity as gas production falls and domestic demand rises. Urea export offers have yet to emerge as all producers are assessing the market and the majority are likely to initially focus on delivering previously committed volumes for export and to meet local demand. But Argus has heard that some traders were offered Egyptian granular urea at $380-390/t fob for loading in late July and early August. No deal has yet emerged. By Dana Hjeij Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Yemen’s Houthis attack ships in Red Sea, Mediterranean


16/07/24
16/07/24

Yemen’s Houthis attack ships in Red Sea, Mediterranean

Singapore, 16 July (Argus) — Yemen-based Houthi militants have launched three military operations in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, Yemen's state-owned news agency Saba said on 15 July. The Houthis carried out multiple attacks against an Israel-owned oil product tanker in the Red Sea, according to US Central Command (Centcom) on 16 July. The Houthis used three surface vessels to attack the Panama-flagged and Monaco-operated Bentley I , which was carrying vegetable oil from Russia to China, Centcom said. There was no reported damage or injuries, Centcom said. Bentley I loaded 39,480t of sunflower oil at Russia's Taman port on 3 July, according to global trade analytics platform Kpler. The Houthis also separately attacked a Marshall Islands-owned, Greek-operated crude oil tanker Chios Lion with an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) in the Red Sea. The USV caused damage but the Chios Lion has not requested assistance and there have not been any reported injuries, Centcom said. The Houthis described its hit as "accurate and direct", according to Saba. The Chios Lion loaded 60,000t (387,000 bl) of high-sulphur straight-run fuel oil on 30 June and 30,000t of fuel oil on 18 June, both at Russia's Tuapse port, according to Kpler. It planned to unload these in China on 22 July. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for these two ship attacks, which were targeted "owing to violation ban decision of access to the ports of occupied Palestine by the company that owns the ship". The Houthis also claimed a third attack on the Olvia with the Iraqi Islamic Resistance in the Mediterranean, with this having "successfully achieved its objective". The Olvia loaded about 6,300t of very-low sulphur fuel oil at Israel's Haifa port on 12 July and was scheduled to unload this at Israel's Ashdod refinery on 13 July. Crude prices were largely lower at 04:00 GMT. The Ice front-month September Brent contract was at $84.63/bl, lower by 22¢/bl from its settlement on 15 July when the contract ended 18¢/bl lower. The Nymex front-month August crude contract was at $81.65/bl, down by 26¢/bl from its settlement on 15 July when the contract ended 30¢/bl lower. By Tng Yong Li Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Pakistan urea demand drops on lower wheat prices: NFDC


15/07/24
15/07/24

Pakistan urea demand drops on lower wheat prices: NFDC

Amsterdam, 15 July (Argus) — Urea consumption in Pakistan fell to 483,000t in June, down by 21pc on a year earlier, with the country's National Fertilizer Development Centre (NFDC) attributing the drop to lower wheat prices and delayed sowing in the summer months. June output fell to 483,000t from 610,000t in the month last year and 737,000t in June 2022. Urea consumption in April-June was down by 18pc at 1.21mn t. The NFDC attributed the fall to lower wheat prices and the delayed sowing of crops in the summer Kharif season, which runs from April-September. But the NFDC did note that urea offtake may pick up in the rest of the season. The dire situation facing farmers has prompted Pakistan's government to impose an indefinite ban on wheat imports into the country, as of 12 July , in a bid to stabilise domestic wheat prices. This may subsequently encourage local urea purchases. The lacklustre consumption so far this Kharif season has eased pressure on urea supplies, with countrywide stocks unexpectedly climbing slightly through one of the peak-demand months of the summer season, up by 6,000t to 231,000t. Domestic production of 497,000t also added some support to inventories last month, but this was down from 548,000t in June last year. Pakistan's state-owned importer TCP has issued a tender to buy 150,000t of urea, closing on 29 July, which will add further support in August-September when cargoes are set to arrive. But the country is still facing a potential tightness of urea supply in July-August, should consumption levels pick-up soon and the import cargoes ship from origins with a long sailing time. The NFDC is projecting consumption of 750,000t and 615,000t in July and August, respectively, which may leave stocks as low as 29,000t by August, without factoring in imports. The cargoes must arrive in Pakistan by 25 September, TCP's tender document stipulated. By Harry Minihan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Germany's Aurubis copper smelter back from maintenance


12/07/24
12/07/24

Germany's Aurubis copper smelter back from maintenance

London, 12 July (Argus) — Germany's Aurubis today announced that its Hamburg copper smelter returned to service on 11 July from the largest maintenance shutdown in the company's history that began 7 May. A restart is now under way following the €95mn 60-day maintenance that included an overhaul of the flash smelter, installation of heat exchangers in the contact acid plant, as well as the installation of a tap hold drill and tamping machine for improved safety of copper slag tapping. Hydrogen-ready anode furnaces were also installed as measures to improve sustainability. Investments in automation are set to improve efficiency and extend the frequency of planned maintenance rounds to three years from two. The Hamburg smelter's outage has exacerbated sulphuric acid tightness in Europe , and the operational restart is expected to provide some relief to the market. This comes in addition to the lack of availability of molten sulphur in the region, leading to shortages of sulphur burnt acid , which has prompted some consumers to replace burnt acid with smelter acid, lifting demand. Aurubis produced 1.19mn t of sulphuric acid during the first six months of the 2023-24 financial year (October-March), up by 1pc on the same period a year earlier. Output at Aurubis' Hamburg smelter rose by 11pc to 512,000t in the period, while output from the Pirdop smelter saw a 6pc decline on the period to 679,000t . For the first three months of the year, Aurubis produced 598,000t of acid, unchanged from the same quarter of 2022-23, as increased output at its Hamburg smelter offset a decline from Bulgaria's Pirdop plant. Production at Hamburg totalled 258,000t from January-March. By Maria Mosquera Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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