State-owned MPC aims to supply 20 percent of the $25 billion global fertilizer market when its Ras Al-Zour complex, 90 km north of the eastern industrial city of Jubail, opens. The $5.56 billion plant is set to become the world’s largest producer of diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer.
The plant is being built in two phases by MPC, a joint venture of Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). The first phase of the project, with a capacity of 2.9 million tons a year, will have a major impact on the world market for phosphate-based fertilizers when it comes on stream in late 2010, said Maaden.
The second phase will give the plant export capacity of at least six million tons per year of DAP, or almost half the 12.2 million tons produced globally in 2006. Based on market prices, the global DAP market is worth $25 billion a year. The company intends to take a 15-20 percent share of world market.
“MPC has already completed launching work and inspection of machinery and equipment at the beneficiation plant (where phosphate gets separated from sand and clay in slurry), the power plant and water systems,” said Abdul Aziz Al-Harbi, president of the company.
He said experimental operation of the mine and the plant proved that the mine contained high-quality phosphate. “This will strengthen the competitive value of the company’s end products — ammonia phosphate and phosphoric acid — in international markets,” he said.
He said the mine and the beneficiation plant are now well-positioned in Jalamid to supply the required raw materials to processors in Ras Al-Zour in order to start production and export to world markets. “Work is progressing well in accordance with a time frame,” he said.
The MPC mine aims at producing 11.6 million tons of raw phosphate annually, which will help supply five million tons of concentrated phosphate.
The licensed area in Jalamid has a phosphate reserve of 534 million tons, the company said, adding that 223 million tons would be enough for 20 years production.
The total cost of the project is estimated at SR20.70 billion ($5.52 billion ) taking into account of the projected annual inflation and estimated financing costs including engineering, procurements and construction costs of SR17.03 billion ($4.54 billion ).
Maaden was established as a Saudi Arabian joint stock company in March 1997 and is owned 100 percent by the government. Its purpose is to facilitate the development of Saudi Arabia’s non-petroleum mineral resources and to help diversify the Kingdom’s economy away from the petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
