Nitrogen fertilizers (ammonia and urea)
Nitrogen fertilizers, such as urea and ammonia, are produced extensively in the Gulf region. They are called nitrogen fertilizers because of the high percentage of nitrogen in them, as nitrogen constitutes about 82% of ammonia and 46% of urea. The production of these two substances began early, that is, before other petrochemical products. The reason for this is due to the These two materials (in addition to methanol) are considered the simplest materials, as natural gas is converted directly through uncomplicated processes into ammonia and then into urea. For example, the SAFCO Dammam plant, which was recently stopped, and then was built in 1969, that is, 40 years ago in While the first SABIC factory began production about 14 years after that date.
The production costs of these two materials are limited and cheap due to the fact that they use natural gas priced at low levels (75 cents per million thermal units in Saudi Arabia)...and because of the low costs of producing the two materials, their prices are the lowest among the products that are converted from gas. For example, the price of urea is currently Less than $300 per ton, and you can compare that to ethylene and propylene, for example, which exceed $1000 per ton...