Pampa Energía advances $2.5 billion urea plant for Brazil

Marcelo Mindlin, chairman of Pampa Energía, met on Wednesday with Cleber Oliveira Soares, executive secretary of Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, to discuss supplying urea to Brazil.

The discussions center on Pampa Energía's project to build a urea plant in Bahía Blanca requiring an investment of more than $2.5 billion. The facility will have a production capacity of 2.1 million tons per year, with operations scheduled to begin by late 2029. It marks the largest investment in the company's history and is expected to create over 3,500 direct jobs at peak construction.

Once operational, Pampa Energía estimates the plant will contribute approximately $1,000 million annually through import substitution and exports. The production will utilize natural gas from Vaca Muerta to serve Argentina's domestic demand and export the remainder to Brazil.

Brazil consumes around 50 million tons of NPK fertilizers per year and imports 92% of that total, with over 80% originating from Northern Hemisphere suppliers including Canada, Russia, China, Belarus, and the United States. In urea specifically, Brazil imports between 7 million and 8 million tons annually. Argentina's Secretary of Agriculture, Sergio Iraeta, stated that the country has enough gas to produce all domestic urea needs and at least half of Brazil's potential demand.

Oliveira Soares also noted Brazil's interest in Argentine potassium from the Colorado River region between Mendoza and Neuquén. Brazil consumes roughly 16 million tons of potassium per year, currently relying on imports from distant producers such as Russia and Belarus.