Nigeria’s urea production gains global recognition

With the coming on stream of Dangote Fertilizer Limited, global urea capacity is poised to see considerable growth over the coming years.

This could move from 222.96 million tons per annum (mtpa) in 2020 to 305.92 mtpa in 2030, registering a total growth of 37 percent, according to a Global Data report.

Devakumar Edwin, group executive director (Strategy, Capital Projects & Portfolio Development) of Dangote Industries Limited had about a week ago, said that the $2.5 billion fertilizer plant, which recently commenced operations can produce enough for local demand as it looks towards exports. He said that the plant currently delivers 120 trucks locally.

According to the World Bank, Nigeria consumed around 20 kg of fertilizer per hectare of arable land in 2018, compared with 73 kg in South Africa and 393 kg in China. The Central Bank of Nigeria had banned the allocation of its foreign exchange for fertilizer imports as part of controls aimed at boosting local production.

While speaking at a virtual economic forum hosted in Qatar on Tuesday, June 22, 2021, the billionaire chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote stated that initial shipment from the new fertilizer plant, which has the capacity to produce 3 million tons of urea and ammonia per year, is expected to start in late June or early July.

He stated that the new fertilizer plant will export its first shipment in late June or early July, to Louisiana, while the majority of exports from the plant are expected to go to Brazil, adding that it will also be able to supply all the major markets in sub-Saharan Africa. He said, “Apart from meeting the domestic demand, we are going to be able to earn quite a lot of money exporting the goods to the South American countries.”

The 3.0 million metric tons of Dangote Fertilizer plant and around 88 planned and announced plants are scheduled to come online, predominantly in Asia and Africa, over the next five years.

Global Data, which made this announcement in its Global Urea Capacity Additions by 2030, released recently, hinted that the completion of Dangote Fertilizer has made Nigeria the third-highest country in terms of capacity additions, with a capacity of 11.58 million tons by 2030. “Major capacity additions will be from two planned plants Dangote Group Lekki Urea Plant 1 and Dangote Group Lekki Urea Plant 2 with a capacity of 1.50 million tons each by 2030,” it added.

Dangote Fertilizer plant has however placed Nigeria in the third position among other countries, like Iran and India that will lead in global urea capacity growth by 2030.

The report classified Dangote Industries Limited, Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Limited and Fertilizer Corporation of India Limited as the top three companies globally in terms of planned capacity addition to global urea production by 2030.

Dangote Industries Limited has completed the largest fertilizer plant in West Africa. The Dangote Fertilizer Project is the largest Granulated Urea Fertilizer complex in the entire fertilizer industry history in the world, with an investment of $2.5 Billion capacity of 3 Million Tons Per Annum TPA. The Dangote Fertilizer complex consists of Ammonia and Urea plants.

The Dangote Fertilizer plant, which has created thousands of direct and indirect jobs in construction and related fields will provide a major boost to the agricultural sector by significantly reducing the importation of fertilizer in Nigeria and ultimately removing the need for imports when the plant is in full production.

Speaking during the truck out of urea fertilizer recently, group executive director, (Strategy, Capital Projects & Portfolio Development) Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin, revealed to the press over the weekend that the Plant, which has the capacity to turn out more than 4,500 tons of urea per day will conveniently meet the local demand and even produce for exports.

He stated that “We have the capacity to turn out 4,500 tons of urea every day. This is a bulk application fertilizer that each crop in Nigeria or globally requires because of the nitrogen content; this is a rich fertilizer having 46 percent nitrogen.”

“The company has the capacity to meet local demand and also export to African countries. Currently, the demand is less than one million tons and we alone can produce three million tones; so, we can easily meet local demand and also produce for export to other west African countries,” he said.

Speaking on this feat professor in the African- American Studies department at Hunter College United States, Ehiedu Iweriebor stated that the Dangote Fertilizer plant, which is a component of the refinery and petrochemical complex, has become national, continental and global game-changer.

“For Nigeria provides it with the first hard manufactured product on a large scale to the World, for the African, North and South American market.”

“At least for the first time in our lifetime, we will export petroleum products. We’ll also see Nigeria for the first time exporting fertilizer rather than using the hard-earned foreign exchange to import fertilizer.”

He described the Fertilizer plant as a pan-African global setting event. “The continent through the actions of the visionary and audacious son of African, Aliko Dangote industrial Nigeria-Africa is finally emergent”, he added.

SOURCE BUSINESS DAY