Posted on 08/03/2022 8:53:50 AM PDT by Red Badger
The world’s largest chemical company, Germany’s BAS, recently announced its plans to scale down on ammonia production. The price of ammonia — a key ingredient in many fertilizers used worldwide — is tied closely with that of natural gas.
“We are reducing production at facilities that require large volumes of natural gas, such as ammonia plants,” BASF CEO Martin Brudermueller said in a July 27 media call after the company’s second quarter financial report became available.
The company had previously announced a reduction in its ammonia production last year. In September 2021, BASF cut ammonia production at its headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany, as well as at its large chemical complex in Antwerp, Belgium, according to The Epoch Times.
In order to fill the gaps, BASF will purchase ammonia from external suppliers, Brudermueller said. The production of ammonia usually accounts for about 4.5 percent of the natural gas used by German industries.
The CEO went on to say that farmers can expect high fertilizer costs to continue well into 2023. “The main application for ammonia is for fertilizers, and that’s for producing food. For this year, that’s not going to be a problem because all the farmers have already bought their fertilizers and have already used it on their field. The harvest is already taking place,” he said. “Next availability will be worse because the capacity is not going to be there and the next is price. Fertilizer prices are skyrocketing.”
“And then farmers will be forced to save money and will only use the minimum of fertilizers on their field. Might also mean that harvest is going to be minor. If there are weather problems, [it would result in] a shortage situation for important crops.”
Ammonia is a key ingredient in fertilizer production. It also plays a key role in the manufacturing of plastics and diesel exhaust fluid.
Germany’s largest ammonia producer, SKW Piesteritz, and No. 4, Ineos, have separately announced that production cuts cannot be ruled out as the price of natural gas remains high across the continent.
Germany has no liquefied natural gas port terminals to replace Russian imports, which it relied heavily on. As a result, German industries are under pressure to reduce gas consumption if supplies are disrupted further.
Russian gas giant Gazprom began reducing its gas supply to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the major delivery route to Europe for Russian gas, on July 27. Supplies were cut to a fifth, or 20 percent, of the pipeline’s total capacity, The Epoch Times reported.
On July 26, European Union responded by announcing a “voluntary reduction” of natural gas demand by 15 percent in order to prepare for the winter.
That's genius-level planning right there ...
No wonder they lost two World Wars.
Amazing how we’ve gone through ce tries of excellent progress, becoming one of the greatest nations on earth, to one where now all of a sudden we are facing severe shortages and for problems, and whatnot. All of,a sudden everything is becoming an “emergency” or “pandemic” and everyone “must make sacrifices” blah blah blah.
Once again, the “experts”, drunk on their momentum to reduce emissions via a reduction in the use of fossil fuels, overlooked the notion that nat gas is also pretty much the bedrock foundation of the entire world chemical industry. Apparently, nobody thought that fertilizer and thus food would be impacted. Nor plastics and the precursors for many medicines. It’s actually pretty incredible when you think about it, nat gas and its chemical products are absolutely fundamental to many, many components of civilization. Even if it smells funny.
Isn’t one of the issues with the Dutch government attempting to shut down a lot of farmers that the cows are creating too much ammonia? Send that cow pee to Germany.
Any reason why we the U.S. couldn’t become leader in ammonia production & fertilizer king of the world? And then we could move on from there. All this would be if we had a leader of course.
Starving the Planet. Gotta get rid of 7 billion folks somehow and the cheapest way possible. (See WEF and Uncle Klaus Schwab).
Here in the Ozarks the ground is so poor the only way to make it fertile is to raise tens of thousands of chickens, then used the manure on the fields.
If you have ever been in a large chicken house in the summer you will be choked and tear up by the ammonia produced by the chickens.
I guess it’s back to bat guano.
Remember Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum, and “You will own nothing and you will be happy” as well as “Eat the bugs because meat is bad for the environment” ?
Yes, they have rented a couple floating terminals from Turkey but they offer only a small capacity cf to what they need. Too bad they didn’t start building their own five years ago when Trump explained the future to them.
And outhouse cleanings...................
The US produces a little more than 8 million tons of ammonia, not enough to meet our domestic needs. Currently under construction in Texas is what will be the largest ammonia plant in the world when it opens in 2023. That will help. I suspect we haven’t been a leader because it has been a cheap commodity, up till now, cheaper to import than to produce domestically.
The Haber-Bosch process for fixing nitrogen, the basis for agriculture, food, and life!!!!
Don’t disrupt it!!!!
I wonder if this was a ‘side’ deal made with Russia...
We are reducing production at facilities that require large volumes of natural gas, such as ammonia plants.
Climate **control** dots being connected.
Mass starvation is planned, by the WEF/Davos crowd. Too many of us plebes taking up their view.
Excellent, and natural gas is used as the source of hydrogen. So without hydrogen there is no ammonia (NH3).
Green = famine
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