International
Mexico aims for fertilizer self-sufficiency Plans to double fertilizer production and tap Baja California phosphate, potash resources spurred by Mexico's big stake in agriculture With more than half of its stillgrowing population locked in an agricultural economy, Mexico is striving hard to improve its basic position in fertilizer and fertilizer raw materials. Led by Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), the state-owned oil and petrochemical company, and Fertilizantes Mexicanos (Fertimex), the state-owned fertilizer company, the country is self-sufficient in nitrogen and sulfur. Meanwhile, the government is hoping to develop potash and phosphate deposits in Baja California. If it is successful, Mexico could become self-sufficient in all four basic fertilizer ingredients. No major industrialized nation can make that claim. Indicative of the money that Mexico is willing to invest to achieve its fertilizer goals is the new complex that Fertimex recently put on stream at Salamanca. The company added a 330,000 metric-ton-per-year urea plant and a 100,000 metric-ton-peryear ammonium sulfate plant there at a cost of $108 million. Fertimex director general David Gustavo Gutierrez noted that the company has plans to build 21 new plants and to expand five old ones. When all of these units are operational, Fertimex will be able to churn out 8.73 million metric tons per year of fertilizer, compared to only 4.44 million metric tons per year now. In addition, the company's ability to produce fertilizer raw materials and intermediates will increase from 2.66 million metric tons to 6.22 million metric tons. Salamanca is the most recent, but not the only expansion that Fertimex has put on stream this year. It has expanded units at Torreon, Guadalajara, and Coatzacoalcos. At these three locations alone, capacity has been increased 460,000 metric tons
annually. Ammonium sulfate accounts for most of the new capacity. Fertimex's next big push will take place at Lazaro Cardenas, where part of a $450 million complex likely will be on stream next year. Cornerstone of the Lazaro Cardenas complex will be a phosphoric acid plant with a capacity of 198,000 metric tons per year (as P2O5) that will be on stream at the end of 1982. Then, another phosphoric acid plant with identical capacity is scheduled by the end of 1983. In addition to phosphoric acid, Fertimex will be producing ammonium nitrate (200,000 metric tons per year), ammonium phosphate (275,000 metric tons), nitric acid (215,000 metric tons), and complex fertilizers (250,000 metric tons) at Lazaro Cardenas. Fertilizer experts will be watching the phosphoric acid plants carefully. Originally designed to use either Florida or Moroccan phosphate rock, Fertimex officials insist that the plants will be able to use rock that they hope to obtain from Baja California. Mexico is developing two phosphate rock operations in the Baja. One is at San Juan de la Costa. The other is at Santo Domingo. Both sites are in Baja California del Sur. Mexican officials expect the San Juan unit to be operating by the end of this year. Actual production is scheduled to start next year, with an initial output of 200,000 metric tons. This will be increased to 730,000 metric tons in 1983. At Santo Domingo, the first stage is expected to become operational in 1982, with production slated at 1.5 million metric tons. When the second stage is completed in 1985, Santo Domingo will be able to produce 4.5 million metric tons of rock a year. If and when these units start producing, the Baja rock will feed the phosphoric acid plants that will be built at Lazaro Cardenas. Some nonMexican phosphate experts, however, think that Mexican officials are being overoptimistic about their phosphate prospects in the Baja. Because of the composition of the Baj$ phosphate deposits, they see little hope of getting usable rock out of there until at least 1985.
Whatever the timetable works out to be, Mexico is hoping to put the Baja rock to good use and to cut down on its import bill. The Baja contains an estimated 1.14 billion metric tons of phosphate rock reserves. Mexico also has its eye on the Baja for potash. By 1983, about 34,000 metric tons per year of potassium chloride is expected to be recovered from a geothermal installation owned by a Mexican electric company at Cerro Pietro in northern Baja. Capacity will be increased to 80,000 metric tons by 1986. That volume, however, won't be enough to satisfy Mexico's domestic requirements. Consequently, plans have been set to produce potassium sulfate at a site in southern Baja, where Compania Exportadora de Sal has a salt operation. A production target of 10,000 metric tons per year has been set for 1982, but this will be increased to a hefty 180,000 metric tons by 1990. Although both Baja potassium operations will be on sites owned by private companies, actual mining will be done by Mexico's Ministry of Mines. There are skeptics who doubt Mexico's ability to tap Baja California for phosphates and potash. But there's little doubt that the country will be able to satisfy its own demand for sulfur and nitrogen, the other two basic fertilizer ingredients. Mexico is
Mexican ammonia output will nearly double by 1985 Millions of metric tons
4 HIB^MiHHHH^BlHH 3
2
1
1971
73
75
77
79
81
83
85
Note: 1980 through 1985 figures are Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) estimates. Source: Pemex
Sept. 1, 1980 C&EN
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• China—China National Technical Import Corp. has signed contract with CoppesRust of Belgium and Klockner of West Germany for 12,000 metric-ton-per-year melamine plant with associated urea unit at Chengdu in Szechuan Province. Units will be based on Stamicarbon processes. Construction timetable not disclosed.
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Yan Shan General Petrochemical Corp. of Peking has contracted with Compagnia Technica Internazionale Progetti S.p.A. of Rome for $70 million series of plants for fabricated polypropylene located near Peking. Construction timing not given. • France—Elf Aquitaine plans 10,000 metric-ton-per-year polysulfide plant at Mourenz in southwest France. Technology will be Elf Aquitaine's. Completion scheduled for early 1982. Company says this will be Europe's first polysulfide plant. • Mexico—Petroleos Mexicanos has licensed Oxo-D process from Petro-Tex Chemical subsidiary of Tenneco to make butadiene from butylene in 65,000 metric-ton-per-year plant to be built at the Morelos petroleum complex at Vera Cruz. Scheduling not disclosed. Fertilizantes Mexicanos S.A. (Fertimex) has awarded two contracts to Gulf Design division of Badger for 600 metric-tonper-day (P2O5) phosphoric acid plant and 525,000 metric-tonper-year diammonium phosphate plant at Fertimex fertilizer complex about 120 miles north of Acapulco. Construction timing not disclosed. Petroleos Mexicanos has signed an agreement to use Air Products' Houdry Catofin dehydrogenation technology in plant at Morelos, Vera Cruz, with capacity to convert propane into 350,000 metric tons per year of propylene. Production scheduled to begin in 1983. • Qatar—Qatar Petrochemical Co. has appointed Pritchard Co. of Kansas City, Mo., consultant
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C&ENSept. 1, 1980
on 70,000 metric-ton-per-year high-density polyethylene plant to be constructed in Umm-Said. First-phase work, with timing not disclosed, will involve process evaluation and contract negotiations. • Saudi Arabia—Texaco and Saudi Plastic Products Co. Ltd. plan to form 60-40 partnership named Sappco-Texaco Insulation Products Co. New company would build more than $30 million plant in Riyadh with capacity of 100 million sq ft per year of polyurethane insulation panelboard. Production scheduled to start in late 1981. • Taiwan—China Petrochemical Development Corp. has licensed technology from Monsanto for 80,000 metric-ton-peryear acetic acid plant at Kaohsiung scheduled for completion in 1982. Newly formed Taiwan Styrene Monomer Corp. has awarded Badger engineering and construction part of 100,000 metricton-per-year styrene plant at Kaohsiung." Plant will use Mobil-Badger ethylbenzene process and Badger's CCB styrene process. • Yugoslavia—Fabrika Sintetickog Kaucuka U Osnivanju has contracted with Snamprogetti of Italy for 38,000 metricton-per-year methyl tert- butyl ether plant at Zrenjanin, about 40 miles north of Belgrade. Cost will be about $10 million; technology will be Snamprogetti's. Scheduling details not disclosed. PLANTS COMPLETED • Colombia—Compagnia Tecnica Internazionale Progetti of Italy has started up complex at Barrancabermeja, about 150 miles north of Bogota, for Poliolefinas Colombianas S.A. Capacities are 220 million lb per year of ethylene and 88 million lb per year,of low-density polyethylene. • Thailand—Davy Powergas has brought on stream 16,000 metric-ton-per-year carbon black plant at Ang Thong, about 60 miles north of Bangkok, for Thai Carbon Black Co. Ltd. Technology is from Phillips Petroleum.
both a producer and exporter of Frasch sulfur already and has been for years. Last year, its two Frasch sulfur companies produced almost 2 million metric tons of sulfur, based on preliminary figures. Pemex also produced 330,000 metric tons of sulfur from oil and natural gas and another 100,000 metric tons from metallurgical sources. Pemex has 10 new sulfur recovery plants either under construction or in the engineering-project stages that will more than double sulfur capacity. One of the largest slugs of new capacity will go in at Cactus, where four new units will add 105,600 metric tons per year of capacity to the 211,200 metric tons that's already there. To tap all of this new sulfur capacity, sulfuric acid capacity also will be doubled. Mexican sulfuric acid capacity now is just over 3 million metric tons annually. Projects scheduled for completion between now and 1982 will add another 3.2 million metric tons to it. By far, the largest share of this new capacity will belong to Fertimex, which plans to build four 660,000 metric-ton-peryear units at three locations. Pemex already has come a long way in ammonia since it built its first 60,000 metric-ton-per-year plant at Coatzacoalcos. With the addition of two huge 445,000 metric-ton-per-year units at Cosoleacaque (one in 1977 and another in 1978), Pemex's ammonia capacity now stands at 2.13 million metric tons per year. But Pemex isn't resting on its laurels. Four more mammoth units, each with a capacity of 445,000 metric tons per year, will be coming on stream over the next two years. Two of them will be on stream this year at Cosoleacaque. This will bring capacity there up to 2.47 million metric tons. The other two will come on stream in 1982—one at Camargo and the other at Salina Cruz. When all of these plants are operating, Mexico's ammonia capacity will be an enviable 3.9 million metric tons. And there could be still more. At a recent meeting, Jose Luis GarciaLuna, manager of petrochemical development for Pemex, predicted that by 1985 the company's ammonia capacity would be 4.8 million metric tons. This seems to indicate that two more 445,000 metric-ton-per-year units may be in the offing. Although Mexico will continue to export ammonia, most of its new capacity will be used to satisfy internal demand. Much of it, for instance, will be shipped to Pajaritos, where Fertimex is building two 1500 metricton-per-day urea plants. One is due on stream next year, the other in 1982. •
