Qatar has laid the foundation stone for a blue ammonia plant at a ceremony in Mesaieed Industrial City.
The energy-rich Gulf state claims the plant – scheduled to open in 2026 – will be the largest of its kind globally and represents an important milestone in QatarEnergy’s strategy to expand in the clean energy sector by producing low carbon ammonia.
H.E. Minister Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said the facility will have a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year, along with an additional unit for CO2 injection and storage, with capacity of 1.5 million tonnes annually.
QatarEnergy will provide the new plant with more than 35 megawatts (MW) of electricity from the solar power plant currently being built in Mesaieed Industrial City.
“This plant will enhance our ability to provide the world with low-carbon products, in line with the global efforts to reduce carbon emissions,” he said.
Completion of the complex will see Qatar become the world’s largest exporter of urea, producing 12.4 million tonnes per year, according to Doha media reports.
H.E. Minister Al-Kaabi said it drew on its capabilities and expertise in the construction and operation of ammonia plants used for the production of fertilizers. “This will be carried out in cooperation between QatarEnergy and Qatar Fertiliser Company – QAFCO,” he said.
Blue ammonia is gaining momentum and now offers ‘a credible alternative’ to LNG for gas monetisation, according to Wood Mackenzie.
But it is not without its challenges. Rival green ammonia, produced from electrolytic hydrogen powered by renewables, is overwhelmingly considered the future of low-carbon ammonia. Right now, large blue ammonia projects offer earlier scale at lower cost in many parts of the world, but falling costs for renewables and electrolysers will eventually close the gap.
“If all forecast low-carbon ammonia in our base case by 2050 were to be blue, it would require 186 bcm of gas to produce. However, we expect the actual opportunity for gas into traded blue ammonia to be a mere fraction of this,” it states.
“Companies must now position for a world in which the energy transition is accelerating. Blue ammonia can play a key role in this, so decisions to develop CCUS and invest in the blue ammonia value chain, including infrastructure, will support growth in demand for LNG now and blue ammonia in future.”
