Key facts
- OCP Nutricrops sold a 50% stake in its Jorf fertilizers company 1 (JFC 1) unit to Koch Ag & Energy Solutions.
- The deal creates a 50:50 joint venture for the JFC 1 unit, located in Jorf Lasfar.
- The JFC 1 unit has a capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year of phosphate-based fertilizers.
- The combined production capacity of OCP and Koch joint ventures will reach 2.5 million tonnes per year.
- The agreement follows a similar 2022 deal involving Jorf Fertilizers III (Kofert).
Moroccan phosphates producer OCP Nutricrops has sold a 50% stake in its Jorf fertilizers company 1 (JFC 1) unit to US trading firm Koch Ag & Energy Solutions. This transaction establishes a 50:50 operating joint venture for the JFC 1 unit, located in Jorf Lasfar, which has a nameplate capacity of 1.2 million tonnes per year of phosphate-based fertilizers.
With this new agreement, the total production capacity under OCP's joint ventures with Koch will reach 2.5 million tonnes per year. This follows a previous sale in March 2022, where OCP sold a 50% stake in its Jorf Fertilizers III unit, subsequently renamed Kofert, to Koch.
The products from JFC 1 will be marketed globally. The agreement arrives shortly after the US suspended countervailing duties on Moroccan phosphate imports for eight months, reopening the US market for OCP.
OCP has faced challenges with sulphur supply, operating at approximately 50% of its total capacity in June. However, the producer is understood to have secured enough sulphur to theoretically operate at 100% capacity during July and August. Despite this, maintaining sulphur stock levels remains difficult for all producers due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US and the unavailability of Kazakh sulphur.