ADNOC to sell blue ammonia to Japan's Idemitsu in clean energy push

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. will sell blue ammonia to Japan's Idemitsu for use in refining and petrochemical operations as the UAE national oil producer expands its clean energy product sales to the Asian country.

Fertiglobe, a 58:42 partnership between Dutch-listed chemical firm OCI and ADNOC, will produce the blue ammonia from its Fertil plant in the industrial hub of Ruwais in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, ADNOC said in an Aug. 10 statement. ADNOC didn't disclose the size or the value of the sale.

This is the second blue ammonia deal with a Japanese company following the sale of a first cargo to Japan's Itochu Corp. earlier in August.

The Idemitsu cargo, sold at a premium to grey ammonia, comes amid a planned scale-up of blue ammonia production capabilities in Abu Dhabi, which is expected to include a low-cost debottlenecking program at Fertil, ADNOC said.

A joint study agreed July 8 between state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp. (Jogmec), INPEX and JERA as well as ADNOC will explore the possibility of producing 1 million mt/year of blue ammonia in Abu Dhabi and transporting it to Japan, a Jogmec source previously told S&P Global Platts.

The agreement follows the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's first fuel ammonia deal in cooperation with ADNOC in January as Tokyo intends to develop its supply chain of blue ammonia, possibly in the Middle East, by the late 2020s.

Hydrogen agreements

Fertiglobe will join ADNOC and sovereign wealth fund ADQ as partner in a 1 million mt/year blue ammonia project in TA'ZIZ in Ruwais, ADNOC said in June.

The design contract for this project has been awarded, with a final investment decision expected in 2022, and start-up targeted for 2025.

The Fertil plant has a production capacity of 1.2 million mt/year of ammonia and 2.1 million mt/year of urea.

Blue ammonia is made from nitrogen and blue hydrogen derived from natural gas feedstocks, with the carbon dioxide by-product from hydrogen production captured and stored.

ADNOC has announced a number of hydrogen agreements since the end of 2020, when Abu Dhabi's former Supreme Petroleum Council mandated the national oil producer to become a leader in the production of hydrogen.

The UAE and ADNOC are eyeing hydrogen exports mainly to Asian countries and companies. ADNOC has also signed hydrogen agreements with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and South Korea's GS Energy.

The UAE's energy ministry, ADNOC and sovereign wealth funds ADQ and Mubadala Investment Co. formed a hydrogen alliance earlier in 2021 to promote the production and use of the fuel in the UAE and ultimately to export markets.