The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and OCP Group of Morocco (OCP) have agreed to work towards creating a joint venture (JV) that will explore opportunities in the global fertiliser market.

The proposed joint venture will look to tap into Adnoc’s bulk sulphur production, ammonia and gas processing expertise, as well as shipping and logistics network, the Abu Dhabi energy major said in a statement.

The JV will also utilise OCP’s access to large phosphate resources, its century-long fertilisers know-how and its marketing network, to develop a new global fertilizers producer.

The proposed partnership will comprise two fertiliser production hubs, one in Abu Dhabi’s Ruwais and the other in Morocco’s Jorf Lasfar, utilising both existing and new assets, giving the proposed joint venture global market reach.

This proposed JV extends the partnership already established by the two firms through the existing long-term sulphur offtake agreement that was announced in December last year. The two companies will work on developing capabilities that will support this venture.

The JV agreement aligns with Adnoc’s announced plans to increase sulphur production by at least 50 per cent.

The UAE accounts for 10 per cent of the world’s sulphur production, with an output of 7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) mainly processed in Ruwais; a figure that will rise to 10mtpa “soon”, Adnoc Group’s Downtream director Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhajri said at the Downstream Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi on 13 May.