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EuroChem Group AG is a Swiss fertilizer producer. It is a fertilizer manufacturer with its own capacity in all three primary nutrients – nitrogen, phosphates and potash. It is headquartered in
Zug Zug (Standard German: , Alemannic German: ; ; ; ; )Named in the 16th century. is the largest List of cities in Switzerland, town and capital of the Swiss canton of Zug. Zug is renowned as a hub for some of the wealthiest individuals in the wor ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It manufactures and markets agricultural chemicals. It produces nitrogen, phosphate, and NPK fertilizers, as well as offers feed phosphates, industrial acids, and mineral raw materials. It serves customers worldwide. EuroChem Group has manufacturing, logistic and distributing facilities in Russia, Belgium, Lithuania, Brazil, China, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Germany and the USA. EuroChem Group has a Russian subsidiary JSC MCC EuroChem. It has mining activities in Kovdor,
Murmansk Oblast Murmansk Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the northwestern part of the country, with a total land area of . Its only internal border is the Republic of Karelia to the south, and it is bor ...
, Russia, Usolye,
Perm Krai Perm Krai (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a Krais of Russia, krai), located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is Perm, Russia, Perm. The population of the krai was 2,532,405 (2021 Russian census, 2021 ...
, Russia, Kotelnikovo,
Volgograd Oblast Volgograd Oblast ( rus, Волгоградская область, p=vəɫɡɐˈgratskəjə ˈobɫəsʲtʲ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (an oblast) of Russia, located in the Volga region, lower Volga region of Southern Russia ...
, Russia. According to the company, it is one of the world's top-5 leading producers of nitrogen, phosphate, potash and complex fertilizers. In 2021, EuroChem had sales revenues of US$10.2bn, of which nitrogen US$3.5bn, phosphate US$3.8bn and potash US$1bn. In 2022, the company's revenue in Russia amounted to 52 billion rubles.


Assets

EuroChem produces nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizers, as well as complex fertilizers, iron ore and other industrial products. It is a company with most production assets in Russia, which moved its headquarters to Zug, Switzerland, in 2015 "to be located in a neutral country to attract capital and talent, and grow globally". It operates production facilities in Russia and Europe (Belgium, Lithuania) and employs more than 27,000 employees globally. Nitrogen assets *Novomoskovskiy Azot (nitrogen fertilizers, urea) *Nevinnomysskiy Azot (nitrogen and compound fertilizers, ammonia, industrial gases, organic synthesis products) * EuroChem North-West (ammonia) *EuroChem Antwerpen (NPK and AN/CAN units, nitrophosphoric acid plant) *EuroChem Migao (potassium nitrate and complex fertilizers) Phosphates assets * Lifosa (phosphate fertilizers, premium-quality commercial DAP and feed phosphates) *Phosphorit (phosphate fertilizers and feed phosphates) * EuroChem-BMU (phosphate and compound fertilizers) Potash assets * EuroChem-VolgaKaliy - Gremyachinskoe deposit, Volgograd region (potash) * EuroChem-Usolskiy Potash Complex - Verkhnekamskoe Deposit, Perm region (potash)


Ownership

EuroChem's founder Andrey Melnichenko beneficially held 90% of EuroChem Group AG shares until 9 March 2022, when he resigned as Non-Executive Director of the Board of Directors, and withdrew as the main beneficiary “to ensure EuroChem is able to continue providing millions of people around the world with nutrients for agriculture, helping to underpin global food security”. The resignation came on the same day Melnichenko was included in a European Union sanctions list, a move he claimed was "absurd and nonsensical" and had "no justification". Following his resignation and withdrawal as beneficiary of EuroChem, Melnichenko beneficially controlled 0% of its shares.


History

Eurochem bought its first potash mining license in 2005, to develop Gremyachinskoe deposit, located near the town of Kotelnikovo, southwest of Volgograd. It followed up with the purchase of another license area a few years later - the Verkhnekamskoe deposit near Berezniki, Russia's potash stronghold, in 2008. Usolskiy Potash Project produced 2.223 MMT of potash in 2020. In Kazakhstan, the company started mining phosphate rock from its Kok-Jon mine in the southeast of the country. Eurochem bought out the Kazakh government's stake in Sary-Tas, a Soviet-era fertilizer plant near Karatau, in the south of the country. The company also produces iron ore from its Kovdorsky mine near Murmansk, which is "byproduct", with the majority of the output bought by Chinese buyers. According to Bloomberg, "the acquisition of a
BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...
SE plant in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
by EuroChem for 830 million euros ($930 million) brought in new technologies" for the company. BASF sold its fertilizers activities in
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
, Belgium, to EuroChem on March 31, 2012. In July 2012, EuroChem completed the acquisition of K+S Nitrogen, a company marketing nitrogenous fertilizers with a focus on major customers in agriculture and special crops such as fruits, vegetables and grapes. In 2013, EuroChem established a joint venture with Chinese fertiliser producer Migao in order to increase its presence in
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, producing
potassium nitrate Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nit ...
and chloride-free complex fertilizers. EuroChem's US$1 billion ammonia plant, EuroChem Northwest, in
Kingisepp Kingisepp ( or ), formerly Yamburg (), Yam (), and Yama (; Votic language, Votic: Jaama), is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located along the ...
, Russia, launched in June 2019, has a production capacity of 1 million tonnes (1MMT) per year, ensuring EuroChem's full self-sufficiency in ammonia. The company approved the construction of EuroChem Northwest 2, a new 1.1 MMT ammonia and 1.4 MMT urea plant, on an adjacent site in Kingisepp, Russia. In August 2021, EuroChem scored a deal of $410 million with Norvegian chemical company
Yara International Yara International ASA is a Norwegian chemical company. It produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products. Its product line also includes phosphate and potash-based mineral fertilizers, as we ...
to take on the
Serra do Salitre Serra do Salitre is a Brazilian municipality located in the northwest of the state of Minas Gerais. Its population in 2020 was 11,668 living in a total area of 1,298 km2. The city belongs to the mesoregion of Triângulo Mineiro e Alto Par ...
phosphate project with 350 million tonnes of deposits in
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
state in the South-West of Brazil. By August 2021, the project is by half ready to be placed under production by 2023. In December 2021, EuroChem announced the purchase of 51,48% of shares of Brazilian distributor Fertilizantes Heringer S.A. for about 94 mln dollars, meanwhile waiting for the approvement from local Antimonopoly commission. According to Bloomberg, the company has closed water or steam recycling at its facilities. It uses a technology which limits the water vapour release and enables byproduct heat to warm its fertilizers. In May and June 2025, EuroChen Azot Chemical Plant in Novomoskovsk, Tula Region, Russia, was attacked by Ukrainian drones, as this plant allegedly produces chemical components for artillery shells.


Health and safety issues


Chemical spillage

In 2010 EuroChem began constructing a bulk port terminal in
Tuapse Tuapse (; , Ṫuapsă ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. Population: Tuapse is a sea port and the northern center of a resort zone which extends sou ...
in the south of Russia. The local environmental organisations accused EuroChem of federal law violation since the construction was taking place in a residential zone. In March 2010, there were reports of a spillage of chemicals at EuroChem's Tuapse terminal while EuroChem was testing the loading of chemical fertilizers onto a tanker. The spillage was later blamed by ecologists for the death of four dolphins at
Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from  – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...
. Local residents reported a substantial deterioration of air quality claiming that this resulted from the emission at the EuroChem terminal. The local resident's concerns soon led to protests in May 2010 of around 3,000 people against EuroChem. EuroChem denied the company bore any responsibility for the alleged deterioration of air quality in the city. In spite of the denials, EuroChem CEO Dmitri Sterzhnev admitted at a press conference following the protests, that during the test drive of the terminal, the company had in fact violated administrative law and had paid a fine as a result. In June 2011 information about the protests reached Medvedev, who was president at the time and he personally ordered to postpone the launch of Eurochem's terminal in Tuapse. A series of lawsuits was brought by environmental organizations as well as by local residents in district and regional courts. Ultimately the Krasnodar regional court, supported by an expert from the regional unit of Rospotrebnadzor, the state environmental watchdog, ruled in August 2011 that the construction was lawful. The construction of the terminal has now been completed and the port is operating.


Baltic sea

According to preliminary Finnish research there is a
phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...
leak in the
Luga River The Luga () is a river in Novgorodsky and Batetsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Luzhsky, Volosovsky, Slantsevsky, and Kingiseppsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast of Russia. The river flows into the Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland. It free ...
in the volume of 1,000 tonnes annually. It may be from the
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...
waste piles of the EuroChem factory near
Kingisepp Kingisepp ( or ), formerly Yamburg (), Yam (), and Yama (; Votic language, Votic: Jaama), is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located along the ...
, although EuroChem has denied this. In April 2012, Russian officials arrested environmental expert Seppo Knuuttila, who had been working on behalf of the
Finnish Environment Institute The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) (, ) is a multidisciplinary research and expert institute under the Ministry of the Environment, Finland. SYKE has four office and research facilities in Helsinki, Oulu, Jyväskylä and Joensuu Joensu ...
and HELCOM. He was interrogated for a total of fourteen hours by the officials, who demanded to have his computer at customs. Mr. Knuuttila was examining
Luga river The Luga () is a river in Novgorodsky and Batetsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Luzhsky, Volosovsky, Slantsevsky, and Kingiseppsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast of Russia. The river flows into the Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland. It free ...
phosphate content, as agreed. The findings of an investigation by HELCOM, the international ecological association, found Phosphorit in all likelihood responsible for the pollution.  Specifically HELCOM accused EuroChem of improperly monitoring phosphorus runoff from its Phosphorit facility, an issue that was also discussed in the Finnish press in January 2012.  The Finnish-Russia cooperation on reducing phosphorus in the Baltic Sea is ongoing indicating the ecological problem is still present. In June 2012, EuroChem and the John Nurminen Foundation agreed to jointly appoint an independent organization to assess the effectiveness and sustainability of the surface water run-off treatment system which was constructed at the Phosphorit factory in March 2012. The system was constructed to purify phosphorus containing surface water run-off, originating in the area adjacent to the factory. In July 2013, the John Nurminen Foundation and EuroChem jointly appointed Atkins, a design, engineering and project management consultancies, to assess a surface run-off treatment system near the Phosphorit fertilizer facility and to conduct monitoring of the Luga River. Atkins will also monitor phosphorus concentrations in the Luga River upstream and downstream of the factory for one year, and calculate river phosphorus loads to the Baltic Sea. After having become concerned about the condition of the Baltic Sea in 2004, the Board of the John Nurminen Foundation consulted leading experts on the marine environment to find out if the Foundation could play a concrete role in protecting the Baltic Sea. According to the experts, the fastest and most cost-efficient method of improving the condition of the Baltic Sea would be to intervene in the operation of wastewater treatment plants located in its catchment area by intensifying their phosphorus removal. The three largest wastewater treatment plants in St. Petersburg were chosen as the first target. By making their phosphorus removal more effective, the Gulf of Finland's phosphorus load usable for algae can be reduced by almost 27%. According to the Finnish Environment Institute, this is the quickest and most cost-effective way to improve the open sea condition of the Gulf of Finland, when comparing all possible water protection measures in Finland and Russia. The measure will visibly reduce the algae growth in the Gulf of Finland after just a few years, provided that the other surrounding circumstances do not change considerably.


Worker facilities

In May 2009 a warehouse for mineral fertilizer at the Tuapse Buker Terminal partially collapsed killing two contractors present. An investigation into the accident was launched by regional authorities.


Fires

In July 2012, two fires took place at the EuroChem's Nevinnomysski Azot, which is based in the Stavropol region in South-West Russia and primarily produces nitrogen-based fertilizers. According to Russian media no toxic emissions or injuries emanated from the fires.


Financing

In April 2013 the Russian newspaper Vedomosti reported that EuroChem was looking to take a loan of US$700 million to finance its current development projects. In August 2013, EuroChem announced that it has signed a new debut US$1,3 billion unsecured loan facility on a club basis. The proceeds were used to pay down the outstanding amount under EuroChem's 2011 US$1.3 billion pre-export facility. S&P Global Market Intelligence (formerly SNL Financial) reported in 2015 that "the company has managed to tap investors in recent years, including a US$750 million project finance facility, a US$1.3 billion syndicated loan and a US$750 million Eurobond issue". According to Olivier Harvey, then-head of investor relations at the company, "despite the whopping US$7 billion price tag for both potash projects, much of the outlay can be funded over time by Eurochem's free cash flows", while "the devaluation of the
Russian ruble The ruble or rouble (; Currency symbol, symbol: ₽; ISO 4217, ISO code: RUB) is the currency of the Russia, Russian Federation. Banknotes and coins are issued by the Central Bank of Russia, which is Russia's central bank, monetary authority ind ...
was delivering huge cost savings to the company's CapEx program." According to Fitch, in 2016, Eurochem "signed an agreement for a perpetual shareholder loan of up to USD1 billion" noting that its "diversification into all three nutrients (nitrogen, phosphate and potash), vertical integration and strong cost position support a business profile commensurate with an investment grade rating" and that its scale "is on a par with that of large fertiliser peers" such as
CF Industries CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilizers, including ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate products. The company is based in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and was founded in 1 ...
et al. In February 2017, Andrey Melnichenko revealed that EuroChem was not planning an IPO in the next few years as the company "has sufficient funds to independently finance its investment program". In June 2018, Moody's assessed that it "positively notes that EuroChem has a contractual loan agreement with its majority shareholder, which allows it to attract up to $1 billion of a perpetual zero-interest loan to support its liquidity." It noted that, according to its rationale, EuroChem's strengths included: #the company's strong business profile, underpinned by its large scale of operations, diversified product mix, and established positions in the global and regional fertilizer markets; #sustainable cost competitiveness, which supports relatively high margins, additionally helped by the weakness of the rouble; #potential for deleveraging; and #proved access to long-term external funding, including a shareholder loan facility, which support liquidity.


Litigation


Shaft Sinkers

In 2012, Eurochem filed suit against Shaft Sinkers, the London-listed South African mining engineering company that had been contracted to construct the shafts at the EuroChem-VolgaKaliy potash site. Soon after starting work on the cage shaft, things started to go wrong; the grouting technology that Shaft Sinkers used failed, and the shaft later suffered water inflow. According to EuroChem's Clark Bailey, the failure and the flooding of the shaft that led to the lawsuit delayed completion at Volgakaliy project by more than two years. In 2015, EuroChem-VolgaKaliy won in the Swiss Arbitration Court, which awarded EuroChem-VolgaKaliy around $140m in damages and legal costs. In 2016, EuroChem settled US$1 billion suit against Shaft Sinkers over potash shaft failure. Shaft Sinkers was later declared insolvent, and its listing on the London Stock Exchange was withdrawn.


Ukraine anti-dumping duties

In September 2019, the WTO Appellate Body ruled that anti- dumping duties imposed by
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
on
ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...
import An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...
s from Russia are violating
WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...
rules, specifically Article 5.8 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement. The court thereby upheld Russia's claim that
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
should have excluded EuroChem, arguing that its dumping had been minimal.


Peers

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Agrium Agrium Inc. was a major retail supplier of agricultural products and services in North America, South America and Australia and a wholesale producer and marketer of all three major agricultural nutrients and a supplier of specialty fertilizers ...
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CF Industries CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilizers, including ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate products. The company is based in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and was founded in 1 ...
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Israel Chemicals ICL Group Ltd. (Hebrew: איי.סי. אל. גרופ בע"מ) (formerly Israel Chemicals Ltd., ICL) is a multi-national manufacturing concern that develops, produces and markets fertilizers, metals and other special-purpose chemical products. I ...
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K+S KS and variants may refer to: Businesses and organizations * , a German postwar commando frogman force * , a Norwegian type of company * Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities * Keenspot, a webcomics/webtoons portal founded in Mar ...
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Phosagro PhosAgro is a Russian chemical holding company producing fertilizer, phosphates and feed phosphates. The company is based in Moscow, Russia, and its subsidiaries include Apatit, a company based in the Murmansk Oblast, Murmansk Region and engaged ...
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PotashCorp The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, also known as PotashCorp, was a company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The company merged with Calgary-based Agrium to form Nutrien, in a transaction that closed on January 1, 2018. The company was the ...
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The Mosaic Company The Mosaic Company is an American chemical company based in Tampa, Florida, which mines phosphate, potash, and collects urea for fertilizer, through various international distribution networks, and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It is the largest U.S. pr ...
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Uralkali Uralkali ( rus, Уралка́лий, p=ʊrɐɫ'kalʲɪj) is a Russian potash fertilizer producer and exporter. It is traded on the Moscow Exchange using the symbol, URKA. The company's assets consist of five mines and seven ore-treatment mills s ...
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Yara International Yara International ASA is a Norwegian chemical company. It produces, distributes, and sells nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products. Its product line also includes phosphate and potash-based mineral fertilizers, as we ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Fertilizer companies of Switzerland Fertilizer companies of Russia