QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and Qafco team up to build Ammonia-7 project

QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) have joined forces to build the Ammonia-7 Project, which will have a capacity to produce 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of blue ammonia.

The two companies are affiliates of the QatarEnergy group.

The new plant in Mesaieed Industrial City is expected to start production in the first quarter of 2026, and will be operated by Qafco as part of its integrated facilities, QatarEnergy said on Wednesday.

The announcement was made during a ceremony held at QatarEnergy’s Doha headquarters to sign the project agreements, including the engineering, procurement, and construction contract.

Valued at $1 billion, the contract was awarded to a consortium comprising ThyssenKrupp and Consolidated Contractors Company.

Saad Al Kaabi, Qatar's Minister of State for Energy Affairs, and president and chief executive of QatarEnergy, said Ammonia-7 is a milestone project for the kingdom and the industry as a whole.

“It builds on our expertise in installing, operating and maintaining conventional ammonia plants to produce fertilisers,” Mr Al Kaabi said.

“We are also building on our unique position in the renewables and carbon capture and sequestration space … as well as on our ideal logistical capabilities and advantages to supply differentiated, low-carbon products and fuels to the world.”

Blue ammonia is produced when the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated during conventional ammonia production is captured and stored. Blue ammonia, which can be transported using conventional ships, can then be used in power stations to produce low-carbon electricity.

QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions, wholly owned by QatarEnergy, is charged with investing in and marketing of renewable energy and sustainability products.

Qafco is one of the largest integrated single-site producers of ammonia and urea, with a current production capacity of approximately 4MTPA of ammonia and 6MTPA of urea.

As per the agreement, QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions will develop and manage integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure capable of capturing and sequestering about 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 per annum, to cater for the new Ammonia-7 plant.

It will also supply more than 35 megawatts of renewable electricity to the Ammonia-7 factory from its photovoltaic solar power plant in Mesaieed Industrial City, which is currently under construction.

The investment in blue ammonia and the expanded CCS facilities are part of QatarEnergy's sustainability strategy. The strategy includes various initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes projects such as the further deployment of CCS technology to capture over 11MTPA of CO2 in Qatar by 2035.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

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Everton 4

Richarlison 13'), Sigurdsson 28', Digne 56', Walcott 64'

Manchester United 0

Man of the match: Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)

Match info:

Burnley 0

Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')

Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)

Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5