The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the Moroccan phosphate giant OCP Group and key operators in the oil and gas value chain have executed five crucial agreements at the Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Benguerir, Morocco. The agreements aim to create a clear path for the second phase of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiate as well as the creation and operationalisation of a Multipurpose Industrial Platform (MPI) in Nigeria. The pact is expected to utilize Nigerian gas and Moroccan phosphate to produce 750,000 tons of ammonia and one million tons of phosphate fertilizers annually by 2025. OCP Africa and the NSIA also signed a Shareholders’ Agreement for the creation of the Joint Venture Company. This agreement would oversee the development of a versatile industrial platform that will produce ammonia and fertilizers in Nigeria.
The business visit is a follow up to the industrial project which was officially launched in June 2018 following the success of the first phase of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative supported by OCP. Through these agreements, the OCP Group has confirmed its commitment to the development of sustainable and inclusive agriculture in Nigeria. The project was first announced during the official visit to Morocco of President Muhammadu Buhari and it is aimed at developing a versatile industrial platform in Nigeria. OCP Group first partnered with the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria in 2016, under the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, supported by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. This collaboration stretched across the entire agricultural value chain, from the introduction of customized fertilizers adapted to local soils and crops to improving the availability of fertilizers in the local market at competitive prices. The partnership also included farmer support initiatives, supply chain development projects along with the strengthening of a close distribution system.
The first two agreements relate to the second phase of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI II) while the last three contracts underpin the creation of a Multipurpose Industrial Platform (MPI) to be sited in Akwa Ibom State. The first phase of the MPI Project will produce 1.5 million tpy of ammonia in two phases. Up to 70% of the ammonia produced will be allocated for export to Morocco and the balance will be routed to the production of 1 million tpy of diammonium phosphate (DAP) and NPK fertilizers to feed domestic demand. It is expected that project construction will commence no later than 3Q21. In the first phase of the project, US$1.4 billion will be invested in building out the plant and its supporting infrastructure with a target operations-commencement date of 2025.
With its operations now spanning five continents and the entire agricultural value chain, OCP Group has always worked to support sustainable agriculture around the world. African agriculture is at a transformational moment in history – and a time of incredible possibility and promise for farmers and industry alike. In 2016, OCP established the subsidiary OCP Africa to contribute to the sustainable development of African agriculture, which is a key component of global food security. OCP Group thus supports, through a holistic, inclusive and partnership-based approach all the stakeholders of the agricultural value chain from government entities to non-profits and private enterprises – to connect farmers to the agricultural services, knowledge, and resources they need in order to prosper.
