Bahri and Ma'aden to explore integration, collaboration

Bahri and Saudi minerals and mining company Ma’aden aim to establish business integration opportunities between the national giants under a new letter of intent, with the objective of localising the maritime industries and developing more resilient supply chains.

Ma’aden produced 9,099 kmt of phosphate, 1,825 kmt of alumina, and 407 koz of gold in 2023, according to its annual report, and said it exported products to over 30 countries. 

The company has also produced 614,000 tonnes of blue ammonia, certified “ultra-low carbon” ammonia by DNV. TUV Rheinland has certified Ma’aden to export 138,000 tonnes of blue ammonia annually, which it did in 2023 to South Korea, Taiwan, India, Europe and China. The company said this blue ammonia output made it the largest exporter of blue ammonia.

Blue ammonia is produced by a less carbon-intensive process, commonly achieved by capturing and storing the CO2 emissions released during the creation of the hydrogen feedstock, which is sourced from natural gas. Ma’aden said in its 2023 sustainability report that its own ultra-low-carbon ammonia production adopts a unique method of capturing waste heat from the process to generate clean energy for use in-house.

Eng. Ahmed Ali Al Subaey, CEO of Bahri, said: "We are delighted to work together with Ma'aden, one of the fastest-growing mining companies in the world and the largest multi-commodity mining and metals company in the Middle East. This collaboration emphasises Bahri’s effective and reliable offerings as the national shipping company and further strengthens our position as a global leader within this dynamic industry."

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Bob Wilt, CEO of Ma'aden, said: "As a global exporter, access to Bahri’s extensive shipping capabilities ensures that Ma’aden can support localisation of the maritime industry in Saudi Arabia. Having worked with the Bahri team across our fertiliser business in recent years, we are confident that this collaboration will open up new growth opportunities across other areas of our business while continuing to support the national economy."

The latest agreement between the two companies follows a memorandum of understanding signed in 2022 on improving logistics ties.