非洲最大的化肥贸易商集团计划在莫桑比克建造一座耗资20亿美元的工厂，该工厂将跻身非洲大陆最大的工厂之列。伊朗战争导致的供应中断正推高化肥价格。
Group, Africa’s biggest fertilizer trader, plans to build a $2 billion factory in Mozambique that would rank among the continent’s biggest as supply disruptions caused by the Iran war drive up prices.
ETG农业投入品与化学品部门首席运营官尼伦·穆鲁甘表示，这座年产150万吨的尿素工厂将建在莫桑比克北部，道达尔能源公司正在那里牵头开发一个大型液化天然气项目，该项目将为该工厂提供关键原料。
The 1.5-million-ton-a-year urea plant will be located in northern Mozambique, where TotalEnergies SE is leading the development of a massive liquefied natural gas project that will supply the facility with its key input, said Niren Murugan, chief operating officer at ETG’s Agri Inputs & Chemicals unit.
今年2月爆发的中东战争暴露了世界对中东地区化肥和能源的依赖，供应中断推高了价格，并为生产多元化创造了机会。丹格特集团和因多拉玛公司也在非洲开发新的化肥工厂。
The war in the Middle East that began in February exposed the world’s reliance on the region for fertilizer and energy, with supply disruptions stoking prices and creating opportunities to diversify production. Dangote Group and Indorama Corp. are also developing new fertilizer plants in Africa.
“现在是合适的时机，”穆鲁甘周三在接受采访时说。“虽然还有很多工作要做，在天然气定价等方面仍有问题需要解决，但我们已经到了真正想要迈出这一战略方向的时候。”ETG计划从道达尔耗资200亿美元的莫桑比克液化天然气项目购买天然气，为尿素工厂供料。这家能源巨头计划在2029年前实现首批出口。该公司于今年1月正式恢复该项目的现场施工，此时距离不断升级的叛乱暴力迫使其停止建设已过去五年。
“It’s now the opportune time,” Murugan said in an interview Wednesday. “Whilst there’s still a lot of work to be done and still things to be resolved in terms of gas pricing and so forth, we are at the point where we really want to take this strategic direction.”ETG plans to buy gas from Total’s $20 billion Mozambique LNG project to feed the urea plant. The energy major is targeting first exports by 2029. The company formally resumed work at the site in January, five years after escalating insurgent violence forced it to halt construction.
根据与政府达成的协议，项目开发商必须提供部分天然气，以帮助发展当地产业。道达尔未立即回复寻求置评的电子邮件。
Under a deal with the government, the project’s developers are required to make some gas available to help develop local industries. Total didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
穆鲁甘表示，ETG的项目——估计耗资在15亿至20亿美元之间，且仍需进行可行性研究——可以通过确保农民获得可持续的氮肥供应来改变莫桑比克的农业部门。他补充说，大部分产量将用于出口，包括出口到该地区。他说，ETG应在一年内就该计划做出决定。
ETG’s project — estimated to cost between $1.5 billion and $2 billion and still subject to a feasibility study — could transform Mozambique’s agricultural sector by ensuring farmers have a sustainable supply of nitrogen, said Murugan, who added that the bulk of output will be exported, including to the region. ETG should make a decision on the plan in a year’s time, he said.
穆鲁甘表示，撒哈拉以南非洲的种植者每公顷使用的化肥用量不到发达国家同行五分之一，这对产量造成了影响。根据非洲开发银行的数据，该地区还进口了其所使用农作物养分的大约80%。
Growers in sub-Saharan Africa use less than one-fifth of the volume of fertilizer per hectare than their counterparts in developed countries, impacting on yields, Murugan said. The region also imports about 80% of the crop nutrient it uses, according to the African Development Bank.