Peru to build the biggest fertilizer plant

The installation of a mega plant of fertilizers of nitrogen in Peru will be defined at the end of June. It will be the biggest plant in the world and will “allow our country become a strategic location for the exports of ammonia and urea to Latin and Central American countries.

The announcement was made by Enrique Palomino, Executive Manager of the Spanish company Fertiberia and member of the delegation that participated in the Latin-American Conference of Fertilizers 2013 that took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

He added that this project will demand an inversion of $2,000 million and could be finished by 2017. He also mentioned that there are two potential places on the coast for the construction of the mega plant of fertilizers; Pampa Melchorita in Pisco and Piura Coast.

“The final place of the plant will depend on where the main source of natural gas as the raw material will be discovered. The conversations with several gas producers are very advanced” said the Executive.

Palomino said that in the event of installing the plant in Melchorita, the natural gas that comes from the Peruvian jungle would be conducted through an already existing gas pipeline whereas in Piura the natural gas is plenty.

If the mega plant is installed in Piura “It would allow us to sell ammonia type phosphate monoammonium phosphate and diammonium phosphate. Moreover, from that region the distance to the important markets of ammonium and urea like Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and US, is shorter than from Melchorita. There is a logistic advantage of 1.000 Km said Palomino.

He explained that wherever the plant will be installed, the urea plant will consume 700.000 tons of ammonium per year, which would leave around 400.000 tons a year to export.
He added, “The 400.000 tons of raw ammonium could also be used for the production of 800,000 tons of nitrate of porous ammonium, for explosives suitable for the Peruvian and Chilean, mining industry. "

According to Palomino, the mega plant of fertilizers installed in our country by 2017, would start the production of 3,500 tons of urea per day and 3,300 tons of ammonium per day which is equate to 1.2 million tons per year and 1.1 million tons per year respectively. 

The executive from Fertiberia hopes that two thirds of the urea production would be available to sell to overseas markets, which means that 800.000 tons of urea per year could get into the market by the second half of 2017. Peru currently imports urea and ammonium from Mexico and Venezuela. 

 “At the moment we are waiting for the Government decision and a contract of natural gas that we have to sign soon”, he said.