Ammonia supply chain between the Middle East & Japan takes shape

Verifying emissions from UAE production

Mitsui & Co., INPEX and Japanese government agency JOGMEC will partner with ADNOC to verify the emissions intensity of ammonia produced at a new project in the UAE. The million-tonne-per-year, CCS-based al-Ruwais project was launched in May 2021, with Mitsui and Korea-based GS Energy coming on board as project partners in November 2022. An official shareholders agreement between Mitsui, GS and Fertiglobe (a joint venture between ADNOC and OCI) was signed in January this year.

The four partners will embark on a study to determine the best methodology for calculating GHG emissions from ammonia production at al-Ruwais, which utilises “by-product hydrogen” as a feedstock and CO2 capture followed by EOR. The methodology is likely to reflect the definition of clean ammonia being developed in Japan by the Clean Fuel Ammonia Association, along with government & industry partners (including both JOGMEC & METI). In an update presented at last year’s 2nd International Conference on Fuel Ammonia in Tokyo, the draft definition indicates EOR pathways will only be considered for approval under the scheme if they are “equivalent to CCS”, with exact conditions still being discussed.

Demonstration cargo from Saudi Arabia reaches Japan

And – although not the first demonstration cargo of low-carbon ammonia to be reported on at Ammonia Energy – a shipment of CCU-based ammonia fuel for power generation has arrived in Japan from Saudi Arabia. Produced by SABIC in Jubail using hydrogen feedstock from Aramco, transported by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and purchased by the Fuji Oil Company, the ammonia fuel will be used for co-firing at the Sodegaura refinery. The announcement indicates that the ammonia was independently-certified – most likely by TÜV Rheinland, following on from TÜV’s first award of a “blue” ammonia certificate to SABIC and Aramco in August 2022.

A similar cargo of 25,000 tonnes of ammonia reached Korea in December 2022. And – in news just to hand – a 5,000 tonne shipment from SABIC has been delivered to the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative Limited, marking the first shipment of low-carbon ammonia from Saudi Arabia to India.

This is another milestone that highlights the possibilities for low-carbon hydrogen and ammonia…Not only is low-carbon ammonia a means to transport lower-carbon hydrogen, it is an important energy source in its own right that can help decarbonize key sectors – including power generation for both utilities and industries. By dispatching this accredited low-carbon ammonia to Japan, we are helping chart a course for the development of this vital commodity.

Olivier Thorel, Aramco Senior Vice President of Chemicals in his organisation’s official press release, 20 Apr 2023