Yara Clean Ammonia, a subsidiary of Yara International ASA, and Enbridge Inc. have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on developing and constructing a large-scale low-carbon blue ammonia production facility near Corpus Christi, Texas. The proposed facility, which will use auto thermal reforming with carbon capture, is expected to have a 1.2-1.4 million tons per annum capacity and produce low-carbon ammonia to meet global demand.
The production facility, subject to regulatory approval and confirmation through the Front-end Engineering Design (FEED) phase, is expected to cost between US$2.6-US$2.9 billion and will be equally owned by Enbridge and Yara. Once operational, the facility is expected to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of ammonia production, with approximately 95% of the CO2 generated from the production process captured and transported to nearby permanent geologic storage.
Enbridge’s Ingleside Energy Center (EIEC) near Corpus Christi, Texas, was chosen as the location for the new facility due to its world-class deep-water docks and export platform. The facility will also utilize Enbridge’s Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline to transport feed gas used in production. Furthermore, Enbridge is also advancing a nearby CO2 sequestration hub, which could become the destination for the captured CO2.
The collaboration between Yara and Enbridge aims to leverage their respective strengths in ammonia development, production, operations, and infrastructure. Yara, the world’s largest ammonia distributor, brings its industry-leading experience in ammonia development, production, and distribution to the partnership, while Enbridge’s large-scale infrastructure development expertise will be critical in advancing the project from development through to commercial operation.
The project is expected to start production in 2027/2028, and Yara, the world’s largest ammonia distributor, is expected to contract the full offtake from the facility. The construction of the production facility will be subject to the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.