Egypt’s Kima and Helwan stop urea production
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.
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Pakistan urea demand drops on lower wheat prices: NFDC
Pakistan urea demand drops on lower wheat prices: NFDC
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Germany's Aurubis copper smelter back from maintenance
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.
Brasil e Bolívia assinam acordo para fertilizantes
Brasil e Bolívia assinam acordo para fertilizantes
Sao Paulo, 12 July (Argus) — Brasil e Bolívia assinaram em 9 de julho um acordo de cooperação para comercialização de fertilizantes e cloreto de sódio (NaCl). O acordo foi firmado após a visita do presidente brasileiro Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva à Bolívia no início desta semana. O acordo foi realizado entre o Ministério da Agricultura e Pecuária (Mapa) do Brasil e o Ministério de Energia e Hidrocarbonetos (MHE, na sigla boliviana) da Bolívia. O acordo não estabelece apenas regras para comercialização de fertilizantes e NaCl entre os dois países, mas também pretende promover a integração energética entre os vizinhos. Segundo o acordo, empresas e entidades de cada país se comprometem a comunicar suas disponibilidades de ureia, NPK, potássio e ureia de liberação lenta, a serem determinadas de acordo com as necessidades; avaliar como executar contratos de compra e venda; identificar potenciais clientes e possíveis destinações para fertilizantes e NaCl; e a estabelecer mecanismos de cooperação em estratégias de mercado. O acordo terá duração de cinco anos e poderá ser estendido pelo mesmo período. Por João Petrini Envie comentários e solicite mais informações em feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . Todos os direitos reservados.
India's IPL issues urea counterbids: Update
India's IPL issues urea counterbids: Update
Adds latest on counterbid recipients Amsterdam, 12 July (Argus) — Indian fertilizer importer and supplier IPL has sent counterbids to all suppliers at $365/t cfr east coast under its 8 July tender. IPL has secured 80,000t for the west coast under two previous bid rounds at $350.50/t cfr. This latest counterbid validity is until 11:00 IST (05:30 GMT) on 13 July. The importer initially sent counterbids to the suppliers with the seven-lowest priced offers to the east coast earlier today, for a potential total of 480,000t, but has now sent the counters to all potential suppliers under the tender. This round of counters for the east coast follows two rounds for the west earlier in the week. The first round was on 10 July and received no acceptances, while the second was on 11 July and resulted in a trading firm agreeing to supply just a further 30,000t at $350.50/t cfr west coast. The east coast counters may tempt more acceptances given the $15/t premium over the west coast price. Trading firm Liven offered the lowest for 50,000t at $350.50/t cfr west coast, while the lowest offer on the east coast was 100,000t from OQ Trading at $365/t cfr east coast. The lowest offers to both coasts will be confirmed sales in line with tender rules. By Harry Minihan Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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