Saudi mining firm exports blue ammonia to China

Ma’aden

Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) has exported its first shipments of low-carbon blue ammonia to China.

The Saudi Exchange (Tadawul)-listed mining major signed an agreement to supply 25,000 tonnes of blue ammonia to China’s Shenghong Petrochemicals.

Ma’aden is among the largest exporters of blue ammonia, having received certification for production in 2022. It will ship more than 138,000 tonnes of blue ammonia products to markets including South Korea, China, Japan, India, Thailand and the European Union.

In November 2022, Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that Ma’aden plans to export blue ammonia amid a global transition to sustainable energy.

Robert Wilt, CEO, Ma’aden, has termed the decarbonisation of ammonia production as an integral part of the global transition to net-zero emissions.

“Ma’aden is well placed to meet the growing demand for blue ammonia, exporting blue ammonia with minimal GHG emissions to markets around the world,” he added.

Saudi-listed Sabic Agri-Nutrients and Saudi Aramco last year received the first certifications for blue ammonia and blue hydrogen production from Germany’s certification agency TÜV Rheinland.