Dubai: Abu Dhabi oil giant ADNOC in partnership with Fertiglobe has sold a cargo of blue ammonia to INPEX in Japan, for use in power generation applications. The sale builds upon recently announced efforts to enhance industrial cooperation between the UAE and Japan and support the development of a UAE-Japan blue ammonia supply chain. Blue ammonia cargos were recently shipped to Japan’s Itochu and Idemtisu.
Fertiglobe, a 58:42 partnership between OCI and ADNOC, will produce blue ammonia at its Fertil plant in Abu Dhabi to deliver to INPEX. The shipment, which was sold at an attractive premium to ‘grey’ ammonia, underscores the favorable economics for blue ammonia as an emerging source of low-carbon energy. The sale represents a production milestone of a planned scale-up of blue ammonia production capabilities in Abu Dhabi, which will include a low-cost ‘debottlenecking programme’ at Fertil.
In addition, in June Fertiglobe said it would join ADNOC and ADQ as a partner in a new 1 million metric tons per annum blue ammonia project at Ta’ziz in Ruwais, subject to regulatory approvals.
De-escalating ‘climate change’
Ammonia can be used as a low-carbon fuel across a range of industrial applications, including transportation and power generation. For Japan, in particular, hydrogen and its carrier fuels, such as blue ammonia, are expected to play an important role in the country’s ongoing industrial decarbonization efforts.
Partnership
ADNOC and INPEX have a longstanding partnership, with the latter participating in a number of ADNOC’s upstream concessions. It has also partnered with ADNOC and Intercontinental Exchange in the launch of ICE Futures Abu Dhabi, and most recently announced involvement in a joint study agreement with ADNOC and other Japanese partners to explore potential of blue ammonia production in the UAE.
