2004: QAFCO and Yara celebrate another milestone

On April 25th 2004, the Emir of Qatar officially opened QAFCO-4, the world's largest fertilizer factory and, with it, further cemented the relationship between Yara and QAFCO.

The history of this partnership goes back over thirty years to 1969 when a joint venture was signed between the State of Qatar and Norsk Hydro Norway to produce ammonia and urea, making use of Qatar's extensive gas resources.

The USD 550 million expansion project was for the construction of a fourth train, integrating tightly with the other three trains in the complex which began with the commissioning of QAFCO-1 in 1973.  Hydro and, subsequently, Yara have supported each of the four expansions, providing both technology and personnel with experience in both construction and operations.

The fourth train included an ammonia plant and a urea plant with a daily capacity of 2,000 and 3,200 tonnes, respectively, in addition to other support facilities. The completion of QAFCO-4 plant created the world’s largest single site producer of urea and ammonia with an annual production capacity of two million tonnes of ammonia and two million tonnes of urea.

During the inauguration ceremony in Qatar, Thorleif Enger, CEO of Yara International, stated:  "We believe that QAFCO-4 will further strengthen our fertilizer business and create an even better foundation for future growth.”  The truth in those words has been proven with this highly efficient complex making a significant contribution to the increasing world demand for fertilizers.

The new expansion also contains the world's largest granulation unit - which is based on Yara's technology - and the world's largest bulk store for urea, with a capacity of 160,000 tonnes.

Ammonia produced at the QAFCO complex uses Qatar’s natural gas as the main feedstock. The major part of the ammonia produced in the ammonia plants is then consumed internally, as feedstock for the Urea plants.

QAFCO is owned 25% by Yara and 75% by Industries Qatar (IQ). Yara has a marketing contract for 50% of the urea produced by QAFCO.