Fast Five: What you need to know about Beaumont New Ammonia

New CEO and MD Liz Westcott described it as a “milestone in Woodside’s strategy to invest in new energy products and lower-carbon services”, with BNA having the potential to approximately double existing US ammonia exports.

Here are five things to know about Beaumont New Ammonia:

• Woodside Energy officially brought ammonia production under its operational control this month when OCI Global handed over control of the BNA facility in Texas, about 140 km east of Houston.

• The agriculture sector is currently the major market for ammonia as its main use is to make fertilisers. The chemical is also used in the textile and pharmaceuticals industries, and it can also potentially be used to generate power.

• Woodside acquired the BNA facility for US$2.35 billion in an agreement whereby OCI would deliver a fully staffed and operational facility. As a result, about 90 OCI employees have joined Woodside and there will be opportunities for more highly-skilled jobs as production increases.

• BNA is already producing ammonia and has the capacity to produce and export up to 1.1 million tonnes annually. BNA has the potential to approximately double existing US ammonia exports. Woodside has secured offtake agreements at prevailing market prices from the conventional ammonia market, and further sale agreements are being advanced in line with anticipated BNA production output.

• Woodside’s medium-term aim for BNA is to produce lower-carbon ammonia. We anticipate demand for lower-carbon ammonia to continue to develop globally, with strong interest shown by customers in Europe and Asia as they pursue energy security and decarbonisation objectives.

Find out more about the project here.