OCI, Lotte Fine Chemical sign MoU for ammonia supply

Amsterdam-based OCI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Korea’s Lotte Fine Chemical for the supply of low-carbon and green ammonia, with first shipments starting this year from OCI’s US facilities, the company said on March 17.

The companies are also looking to cooperate to build a global supply chain of bunkering for ammonia-powered vessels in Ulsan, Korea, which are expected to be commercialised from 2025 onwards.

With this MoU, OCI will supply Lotte Fine Chemical from OCI existing low carbon ammonia production capacity in Texas starting this year. Lotte Fine Chemical will introduce OCI’s ISCC Plus bio-ammonia, derived from bio-methane, for the first time in Korea, for supply to its domestic customers. When bio-certified, plastic products made of this material will be eligible for tax benefits when exported to Europe.

Future supply is also expected to come from OCI’s new large scale blue ammonia greenfield project under construction in Texas that is expected to be operational in early 2025, as well as from Fertiglobe’s green ammonia production facility in Egypt, which recently commissioned its first phase.

Fertiglobe is a strategic partnership between OCI and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). OCI, together with Fertiglobe, is one of the largest producers and traders of ammonia and methanol globally.

Lotte Fine Chemical will explore to leverage its Ulsan port ammonia tank facilities to accelerate the global supply chain for bunkering of ammonia-powered vessels, with completion of the installation of bunkering supply facilities at Ulsan by 2024, OCI said.

OCI said it plans to set up a global supply chain and bunkering network using its ammonia storage infrastructure located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, near Suez in Egypt, and in the US Gulf.