Yara completes 50% JV with NOC/LIA of Libya

11-Feb-2009 - Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

Yara International ASA, National Oil Corporation of Libya (NOC) and Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) signed the final agreements to create the fertiliser joint venture Libyan Norwegian Fertiliser Company (Lifeco). Yara, NOC and LIA will have ownership shares in the new company of 50%, 25% and 25% respectively. The closing of the deal follows approval of the required licenses under the Libyan Investment Law.

NOC transfers to Lifeco the existing Marsa El Brega fertilizer assets, valued at USD 225 million, while Yara contributes to Lifeco the corresponding value in cash. NOC will supply natural gas to Lifeco under a long-term agreement with a gas price linked to fertiliser product prices. Yara will handle all urea and ammonia exports from Lifeco. The existing operations produce approximately 900,000 tonnes of urea and 150,000 tonnes of merchant ammonia per year.

Lifeco is jointly set up by NOC, LIA and Yara to own and operate the fertilizer facilities located at Marsa El Brega at the Mediterranean coast, some 700 km east of the Libyan capital Tripoli, with approximately 1,200 employees. Key utilities and services will be supplied by Sirte Oil Company, a NOC subsidiary and the owner and operator of the rest of the chemical complex at Marsa El Brega. Lifeco will embark on a programme to optimize and upgrade its operations. A second phase will aim to invest in new world scale production facilities as and when new natural gas resources are made available, subject to economic evaluations.

The company will be headquartered in Marsa El Brega under the leadership of its new CEO, Gianni Paci from Yara, supported by a joint core management team of experienced NOC and Yara executives.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/96710/yara-completes-50-jv-with-noc-lia-of-libya.html