Recently, NEXTCHEM announced that it has reached a cooperation agreement worth a total of €485 million with relevant partners in West Africa. According to the agreement, NEXTCHEM will provide comprehensive support covering technology licensing, process design packages, and key proprietary equipment for three major industrial complexes in the West African region, aiming to promote the large-scale development of local nitrogen fertilizer production facilities.
The cooperative project spans a wide geographical area, involving three key locations and comprising five hydrogen units, five ammonia units, and multiple urea melt granulation units. Notably, the third plant in the project plan will adopt a combined ammonia and methanol production model, with a designed capacity expected to reach 900,000 tons of ammonia and 600,000 tons of methanol per year. This highly integrated production layout reflects the trend of industrial facilities developing towards diversification and scale.
In terms of technology pathway selection, NEXTCHEM has provided several targeted solutions. The hydrogen production units will utilize NX AdWinHydrogen® technology, ammonia production will be based on the NX STAMI™ ammonia process, and the urea production facilities will incorporate NX STAMI™ urea technology. Furthermore, the combined ammonia-methanol production stage will employ NX AdWin® Combined technology, optimizing energy utilization efficiency through process integration to enhance the market competitiveness of the end products.
Currently, related early-stage engineering activities have officially commenced. During the transition period before the Final Investment Decision (FID) is reached, an initial payment of €10 million has been confirmed. The remaining contract balance will be executed further after the project's final investment decision is implemented. The advancement of this project is not only expected to significantly enhance the independent chemical production capacity in the West African region but also provide stable fertilizer resource support for the sustainable development of regional agriculture.
After signing the agreement, the project leader stated: "We will assist in perfecting the local industrial system by providing high-efficiency process design and technological solutions to support the long-term development of the basic chemical industry within the region." This statement highlights the service provider's positive expectations for the project's role in promoting regional industrial transformation.
