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UAE’s Fertiglobe Plans IPO of 13.8% Stake

One of Fertiglobe’s facilities (Asharq Al-Awsat)
One of Fertiglobe’s facilities (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UAE’s Fertiglobe Plans IPO of 13.8% Stake

One of Fertiglobe’s facilities (Asharq Al-Awsat)
One of Fertiglobe’s facilities (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and chemical producer OCI N.V. plan an initial public offering (IPO) of 13.8 percent of the shares in fertilizer joint venture Fertiglobe on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

The Offering will be the first listing of a free zone company onshore in the UAE and is open to all citizens and residents of the UAE as well as local and international institutional investors in several countries, the joint venture said on Tuesday.

UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Managing Director and Group CEO, and Fertiglobe Chairman Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber said the launch of Fertiglobe’s IPO exemplifies ADNOC’s pivotal role in driving the growth and diversification of the nation’s economy, supporting the further development of the UAE’s private sector and equity capital markets, and attracting foreign direct investment.

He explained that the IPO will be the first listing of a free zone company onshore in the UAE and is open to all citizens and residents of the UAE as well as local and international institutional investors in several countries.

Fertiglobe offers a unique investment opportunity to access an increasingly critical global sector while also benefiting from emerging opportunities in the low-carbon ammonia value chain and the hydrogen economy, according to Jaber.

Fertiglobe was formed in September 2019 as a strategic partnership between OCI (58%) and ADNOC (42%), creating the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s largest producer by production capacity, and an early mover in clean ammonia.

Fertiglobe owns production facilities in the UAE, Egypt, and Algeria.

For his part, Executive Chairman of OCI NV and Vice Chairman of Fertiglobe Nassef Sawiris announced Fertiglobe’s intention to float on the ADX, saying it marks another milestone in Fertiglobe’s growth journey since its creation in 2019.

“As a pure play nitrogen company and an early mover in clean ammonia, it enhances the visibility of Fertiglobe in the marketplace, including its financial performance, attributes that support a robust dividend capacity, commercial positioning, and unlocking of various strategic avenues of growth.”

Global demand for carbon-free ammonia is expected to increase significantly, estimated at 26 million tons by 2030 and 40 million tons in 2035.

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OPEC Secretary General: Producing Critical Minerals in Future Not Only Dependent on Renewable Energy

Trucks transporting minerals from the mountains (Getty)
Trucks transporting minerals from the mountains (Getty)
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OPEC Secretary General: Producing Critical Minerals in Future Not Only Dependent on Renewable Energy

Trucks transporting minerals from the mountains (Getty)
Trucks transporting minerals from the mountains (Getty)

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said on Monday that those that talk of critical minerals delivering the world a future of only renewables and EVs, are not providing a full picture.

In an article published on the organization’s official website, Al Ghais spoke about the many future energy pathways for nations and peoples across the world, affirming that “we all need to be realistic about how these can be achieved.”

Al Ghais said that sustainable energy pathways are vital for populations all over the world. However, he noted, “we need to appreciate the real-world impacts of scenarios and policies aimed at ramping up renewables and electric vehicles (EVs). There are many elements that filter into this, a central one being the role played by critical minerals.”

At this point, he mentioned the International Energy Agency (IEA), which says that in its Net Zero Emissions (NZE) by 2050 Scenario, demand for critical minerals quadruples by 2040.

“It is a pace never seen before in history,” Al Ghais wrote.

He noted that while these minerals, such as copper, cobalt, silicon, nickel, lithium, graphite and rare earths underpin the development of renewables and EVs, OPEC Member Countries are investing heavily in renewables, in all stages of their supply chains, and participating in the development of EVs.

OPEC attaches an importance “to the role of renewables and electrification in our energy future,” he said.

Al Ghais then posed several questions on the nature of such an expansion of critical mineral requirements.

“Is this kind of expansion truly feasible? What are the implications? How sustainable is it? And how important is oil and gas to the expansion of critical minerals, as well as renewables, EVs and grids,” he asked.

In the mentioned IEA scenario, Al Ghais said that by 2040, copper demand rises by 50%, rare earths demand almost doubles, cobalt demand more than doubles, and nickel demand is close to tripling.

“These are nowhere near the largest increases either. Graphite demand grows almost four times, and lithium sees a nearly ninefold expansion by 2040, underlining its crucial role in batteries,” he noted.

The OPEC Secretary General affirmed that this will require the construction of a huge number of new mines.

“Back in 2022, the IEA said that by 2030 alone, the world would need to build 50 new lithium mines, 60 new nickel mines and 17 cobalt mines,” he said.

He added, “It should be borne in mind that, historically, critical supply chain projects, such as for these types of commodities, have had long development lead times, from discovery to first production.”

Here, Al Ghais asked another question: is such growth realistic? And what might the impact be if growth comes up short, and equally importantly, what if policymakers have also followed a path of no longer investing in new oil and gas projects?

The Secretary General said EVs, wind turbines, solar panels, as well as new grids, are all hungry for critical minerals.

“An EV contains approximately 200 kg of minerals,” he explained. “For contrast, a conventional car uses around 34 kg. One megawatt of electricity produced by an offshore wind turbine requires around 15 tons of minerals, while the figure for solar is around seven tons. For natural gas, it is just over 1 ton.”