Notore Chemical Industries has announced plans to partner with Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan and other international investors for the construction of a new plant at the facility located in Onne, Rivers State.
Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Notore Fertilizer, Mr Onajite Okoloko, disclosed this; he said preliminary studies had commenced for the construction of the second train, which would be done at the company’s certified brownfield site.
The planned expansion will add a second train to Notore’s existing plant, thereby boosting the capacity of the plant, and meeting its target of becoming a net exporter of fertilizer to other African countries and beyond.
The new Train 2 plant will co-produce 1 million metric tonnes of fertilizer per annum and 500,000MT of methanol.
According to Okoloko:
“Discussions are progressing with Mitsubishi and other investors, while preliminary studies have started for Train 2, which will co-produce 1,000,000MTPA of fertilizer and half a million metric tonnes of methanol annually at Notore’s certified brownfield site.
“This, together with its existing plant, is expected to achieve an aggregate increase in Notore’s fertilizer production capacity from 500,000MTPA to approximately 1,500,000MTPA of fertilizer and introduce 500,000MTPA of other petrochemicals.”
The fertilizer company has recently gotten regulatory approval to list its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The company got approval to list by introduction 1.6 billion units of shares on the NSE at N62.50 per unit. this gives the company a total valuation of N100 billion.
Okoloko also explained that Notore’s gas supply agreement with Eroton Exploration and Production Company Limited, an indigenous oil and gas producer in 2015, has given it the confidence to proceed with the second train.
Operator of Oil Mining Lease 18, Eroton sits atop a prolific oil and gas acreage with proven gas reserves of five trillion standard cubic feet. With the Eroton oil field just 14 kilometres away from the Notore plant, Okoloko explained that the gas supply agreement had guaranteed the company’s ability to build a second train co-production plant for fertilizer and methanol.
About the company
Notore was founded in 2005 by a group of investors led by Onajiite Okoloko. Other members of the consortium include Emerging Market Partners and Orascom of Egypt. The company’s operations are divided into three units: fertilizer, power, and seeds.
The company bought over assets of the defunct National Fertilizer Company (NAFCON), Onne. Funds were raised from a consortium of Nigerian banks in 2007 for the rehabilitation of the plant, and urea production began in 2009.
Notore in January 2018, obtained a Free Trade Zone (FZE) license. The FZE located in Eleme, Rivers State is expected to kick off operations in the next two years.
