Register for MEED's 14-day trial access 

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has completed the transaction to acquire a majority stake in UAE-headquartered Fertiglobe, the largest nitrogen-based fertiliser producer in the Middle East and North Africa region.

Adnoc has increased its shareholding in Fertiglobe to 86.2% through the acquisition of 50% + 1 share held by Netherlands-based OCI Global, which is backed by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris. The Abu Dhabi energy giant previously held a 36.2% stake in Fertiglobe.

The remaining 13.8% of Fertiglobe’s shares trade on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange following the company's stock listing in October 2022.

Adnoc announced the transaction to become the majority shareholder in Fertiglobe last December. Fertiglobe’s shares were priced at AED3.2 ($0.87) a share, valuing the deal at $3.62bn.

Following the completion of the majority acquisition, “Fertiglobe’s current management team will stay in place”, including Ahmed El-Hoshy in his role as CEO, Adnoc said in a statement on 15 October.

“Ahmed El-Hoshy spent 15 years growing OCI’s US and European business in ammonia and methanol via greenfields, brownfields and acquisitions, generating significant value for shareholders by leading recent divestments,” Adnoc said.

Growing chemicals business

Fertiglobe is the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, exporting to 53 countries with a collective market share of about 10% of global trade in these products.

“The acquisition represents … the expansion of Adnoc’s low-carbon fuels business, and supports its goal to become a top-five global chemicals player,” Adnoc said.

“Fertiglobe will become the platform for Adnoc’s growth in fertiliser and low-carbon ammonia,” Adnoc said in its statement.

Adnoc added it will transfer its stakes in existing and future low-carbon ammonia projects to Fertiglobe “at cost and when ready for startup”, including its two projects in Abu Dhabi and other projects in its global portfolio. Adnoc has yet to specify the low-carbon ammonia and blue ammonia production projects.

MEED understands that the first Abu Dhabi project in question is the blue ammonia facility in the Taziz Industrial Chemicals Zone in Ruwais. Fertiglobe has partnered with South Korea’s GS Energy Corporation and Japanese investment firm Mitsui & Company to build the complex, which will have a production capacity of 1 million tonnes a year (t/y).

In February last year, the joint venture awarded Italian firm Tecnimont the main contract for executing the engineering, procurement and construction works on the Taziz blue ammonia project.

The second Abu Dhabi blue ammonia project that Adnoc could be referring to in its statement is a proposed scheme for which it signed a joint feasibility study agreement with British energy producer BP in May 2022.

Adnoc further said that the two projects in Abu Dhabi will add 2 million t/y of output potential, more than doubling Fertiglobe’s current commercial ammonia capacity of 1.6 million t/y and increasing its total sellable capacity to 8.6 million t/y of net ammonia and urea combined, in addition to other announced global projects.