KSA’s Sipchem seals approval for blue ammonia project: Sahara International Company (Sipchem) — a petrochemical company jointly owned by private sector investors — said it has received approval from Saudi Arabia Energy Ministry to allocate feedstock to build a blue ammonia plant in Jubail Industrial City, Sipchem said in a disclosure to Tadawul yesterday.

About the plant: The low-carbon blue ammonia facility will have a capacity of 1.2 mn tons per year, the disclosure read, without providing details on funding or a timeline for completion. The company said it will “utilize the most efficient energy and feedstock technologies for the plant.”

About Sipchem: Established in 1999, the petrochemical company offers methanol, butanediol, tetrahydrofuran, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, vinyl acetate monomer, and carbon monoxide through its various affiliates, according to its LinkedIn. It launched a number of downstream projects in recent years to manufacture ethylene vinyl acetate, low density polyethylene, ethyl acetate and other chemicals.

REMEMBER- All under a race for blue ammonia: Several Saudi players have been tapping the low-carbon ammonia markets in recent months. Saudi chemical manufacturer Sabic Agri-Nutrients shipped in June its first 5k metric ton load of low-carbon ammonia to Taiwan. The shipment in June followed another 5k ton load of low-carbon ammonia to India in May, an undisclosed quantity to Japan in April, and 25k tons of low-carbon blue ammonia to South Korea last November. Another Saudi firm, Ma’aden, signed an agreement with Indian agricultural chemicals maker Coromandel International in May to supply low-carbon blue ammonia. The agreement came after it made shipments of low-carbon blue ammonia to Chinese petrochemical producer Shenghong Petrochemicals as part of an agreement to supply 25k tons of blue ammonia.