Ammonia: Long-awaited second export cargo from new US Gulf plant brings early festive cheer to buyers

As dawn broke over the US Thanksgiving holiday, it was ammonia buyers West of Suez who had reason to be grateful as a tanker arrived at the Gulf Coast Ammonia (GCA) export terminal to finally load the long-awaited second cargo from the delayed 1.3m. tonne/year project.

While details about the 25,000t lifting by Nutrien’s Kaprijke are elusive, the new capacity provided by the Texan project has been welcomed by buyers in North Africa and Europe given it should ease some of the recent upward price pressure.

Exactly eight months to the day that the inaugural cargo departed Port of Texas City, the second shipment was placed on the mid-sized carrier, with talk the material could head to a Chilean customer of the Canadian major.

The group has certainly been active in the ammonia spot market in the wake of the 23 October controlled shutdown of its four ammonia units and one urea line in Trinidad due to a row over port access fees and natgas supply reliability.

“Nutrien will continue to engage with stakeholders and assess options with respect to its operations in Trinidad,” the group said last month, adding ammonia and urea sales volumes from the operations are around 85,000t and 55,000t per month, respectively.

The company subsequently bought at least two spot cargoes of 25-28,000t on a cfr basis for delivery to term buyers in Europe.

According to the increase in the Kaprijke’s draught displayed by its Automatic Identification System (AIS) over the past 24 hours, the latest GCA loading has gone to plan, and the carrier looks poised to depart shortly.

In late March, Yara loaded nearly 15,000t of GCA product on the Dancing Brave for Norway, though information surrounding the vendor and price was never disclosed.

Additional US Gulf capacity set to appear soon

Any sign GCA is ramping up output will be welcomed by buyers West of Suez as the major new project was originally due to debut two and a half years ago.

While Morocco’s OCP Group will receive the vast majority of the volume, other leading players are also expected to receive tonnes from a plant that will bring a better balance to markets in North Africa and Europe.

Before the end of this year, or in early 2026, another new ammonia plant will launch in Texas, with Woodside Energy’s 1.1m. tonne/year Beaumont New Ammonia project preparing to commence commissioning.

Earlier this month, the Australian energy giant confirmed material from the plant, which it acquired from OCI Global for $2.35 billion last year, will be sold via a “mix of term and spot sales, targeting US and Europe” between 2026 and 2028.

From 2029, Woodside aims to “broaden ‘[its] customer base, including APAC [Asia Pacific] markets and global maritime fuels”, given the plant will incorporate carbon capture technology that is favoured by countries in Northeast Asia who have adopted strict clean energy policies.

Elsewhere in the US, Yara and Mosaic have still to settle the Tampa contract for December loadings, but with the month almost at an end, an agreement should emerge in the next few days.

Outside of the US Gulf, activity was muted and most players kept their cards close to their chest when it came to discussing spot business and prices.

This was reflected in the lack of numbers for cargoes sold into the UK and Brazil, while no new fob figures were shared for future liftings from key export hubs.

Activity was also muted East of Suez, where the supply situation is far healthier despite a Saudi plant shutdown taking a bite out of Middle East availability for the past few months.

Robust run rates at plants across Southeast Asia, China and many countries in the Middle East mean export availability is extremely healthy as the year draws to a close, though seasonal turnarounds at chemicals units have cooled spot activity and prices.

By Richard Ewing

Head of Ammonia/Deputy Editor of Profercy