Japan’s Mitsui & Co., Ltd. has completed the acquisition of an unconventional gas asset in Texas from Sabana, LLC and Vanna, LLC through its U.S.-based subsidiary Mitsui E&P USA LLC (MEPUSA).
The asset, named Tatonka and approximately 46,500 acres, has access to the Gulf Coast industrial area, which includes liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals and ammonia plants, Mitsui said in a news release.
MEPUSA will drill wells to evaluate well performance and develop and operate the asset aiming for full-scale development after 2026, according to the release.
As U.S. demand for natural gas is expected to increase due to the start-up of new LNG projects and growth in demand for electricity, Mitsui said it is also promoting liquefaction and export of U.S. natural gas to global markets, and methanol production businesses using natural gas as feedstock.
In addition to proactively pursuing upstream development projects, the company also plans to strengthen the natural gas value chain, including adjacent businesses, and work toward achieving further low-carbon solutions and decarbonization through the use of carbon capture and storage and other measures.
Construction of Ammonia Plant in UAE
Meanwhile, Mitsui, TA’ZIZ, Fertiglobe, and South Korea’s GS Energy Corporation have agreed to begin the construction of an ammonia production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
In addition, Mitsui has signed a loan agreement with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to finance the development of the project, it said in a separate news release.
The project involves the construction of an ammonia production facility in Al Ruwais, UAE. Starting in 2027, the plant is expected to produce 1 million tons per year of ammonia with lower carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions compared to conventional ammonia. Additional facilities will be installed in the plant to capture and store CO2 emitted in the manufacturing process, with plans to begin production of clean ammonia by 2030.
In addition to its participation in the project, Mitsui plans to offtake a certain volume of the clean ammonia produced at the plant for supplying Japan and other Asian markets for use in fuel applications, chemical and fertilizer feedstock applications, and other industries.
Mitsui said it has been handling ammonia for about 50 years and continues to be its largest importer in Japan. Mitsui and Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. have been jointly developing and managing an LNG plant in the UAE, according to the release.
TA’ZIZ, owned by ADNOC, describes itself as a critical enabler of the UAE’s industrial development and economic diversification ambitions. Founded in 2020 as a joint venture between ADNOC and ADQ, TA’ZIZ is a manufacturing, industrial services, and logistics ecosystem that drives, supports, and enables the production of chemicals value chains and transition fuels.
Fertiglobe is the world’s largest seaborne exporter of urea and ammonia combined, and an early mover in sustainable ammonia, according to the release. Fertiglobe’s production capacity is 6.6 million tons of urea and merchant ammonia, produced at four subsidiaries in the UAE, Egypt, and Algeria, making it the largest producer of nitrogen fertilizers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and benefits from direct access to six key ports and distribution hubs on the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and the Arab Gulf.
GS Energy Corporation is an energy provider in Korea, who operates a variety of energy-related businesses including upstream, electrical power, LNG, crude refining and many types of renewable energy and hydrogen businesses, through its subsidiary companies.
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