OCP: Accelerating the Green Shift

In 2022, just after the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, two major developments put global food security at risk. Exports (mainly to Europe) of fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine came to a halt, and China decided, starting August 28, 2021, to impose restrictions on exports of phosphates, phosphate rock, and its derivatives. Until then, China accounted for 11% of global exports of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers.

In the context of a global shortage of fertilizers and declining food production, OCP was called upon to step in. The group increased its production by 10% to meet demand. Today, the same story is repeating itself. China is maintaining its restrictions, Russian fertilizers are still under economic sanctions, and one of the main producers in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, is directly affected by the crisis. Once again, from India to North America, from Europe to Suriname and other Latin American countries, the “OCP option” is a safe haven for securing fertilizer supplies.

Market shares have been gained that now need to be sustained. But there are also challenges, particularly in terms of securing inputs—ammonia and sulfur foremost among them—that must be addressed. Thanks to the diversification of its supply sources (North America, Trinidad and Tobago, Kazakhstan, and even Russia), the group has managed to cope with the situation. Here again, anticipation has played a key role. The proof: as early as 2024, Kazakhstan had established itself as the main supplier, accounting for nearly half of imported volumes compared to 33% a year earlier. In one year, imports from that country doubled, reaching 4.1 million tons, according to Global Trade Tracker data. This choice was initially explained by reduced transport time compared to the Middle East, and it is now reinforced by the crisis in that region. Nevertheless, this new situation also represents an opportunity to accelerate its transition program toward green ammonia.

Green ammonia, coming soon
It is worth recalling in this regard, as the H2Global Foundation recently highlighted in its latest report, that the Moroccan phosphate giant plans, as part of its 2023–2027 investment program, “the installation of a green ammonia production unit estimated at 7 billion dollars, powered by 3.8 gigawatts (GW) of wind and solar energy, with a target of 3 million tons of renewable-source ammonia by 2032.” According to the same document, the objective is, on the one hand, to reduce dependence on ammonia and energy input imports and, on the other hand, to “secure the carbon competitiveness of Moroccan fertilizer exports in the context of the implementation of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).” In this context, a pilot project launched by the group in Jorf Lasfar is beginning to take shape, with commissioning expected toward the end of this year. The project combines the two technologies used in the field and will make it possible, from that point onward, to produce 1 to 3 tons of green ammonia per day, i.e., more than 300 to 1,000 tons per year. This project positions the Kingdom as the world’s leading producer of sustainable fertilizers, a decisive competitive advantage in the face of the European carbon tax.

In the meantime, the group is adapting
Alternatives exist to reduce dependence on disruptions in the ammonia market. Triple Super Phosphate (TSP), with zero dependence on ammonia, is one such alternative. It is the flagship product of its “TSP Hub” strategy. “Driven by an ambitious program launched in Jorf Lasfar, the TSP Hub enables OCP Nutricrops to exceed 5 million tons of Triple Super Phosphate (TSP). This industrial milestone has been reached to better meet the growing global demand for fertilizers,” reads a statement released in July of last year. The same document announced a target of 7 million tons by the end of the year. NP 5-42, which uses a very small amount of ammonia (70% less compared to DAP), is also an alternative.

That said, in the fertilizer industry, the group is in the process of negotiating a new turning point. Just after decarbonization, the next step is diversification, with the launch of operations at the Khémisset potash mine, thereby diversifying its product offering and, at the same time, its markets.

On another front, the group continues to diversify its activities through its subsidiary InnovX, as well as other subsidiaries such as OCP Green Energy. The latter had already announced, last December, the commissioning of the first phase of its investment program, representing a total solar capacity of 202 MWp. Today, it is entering the photovoltaic module industry. This allows it—and this has now become a tradition within the group—to control the entire value chain of this new business, from production to storage, thanks to its own BESS (battery energy storage systems).