Incitec Pivot CEO Mauro Neves de Moraes: Gas supply the biggest concern

Mauro Neves de Moraes says his largest preoccupation is securing long-term economic gas supply, an essential feedstock in the company’s products.

Incitec Pivot CEO Mauro Neves de Moraes. Photograph by Arsineh Houspian.

CEO SURVEY 2025: FULL COVERAGE

Economy

How would you rate the momentum of the Australian economy as we head into 2025? Official forecasts have Australia trimming interest rates from the first half of calendar 2025, is that consistent with your view? What are you seeing around inflation in your own business?

I would characterise the economic outlook as optimistic compared to this time last year. Australia has emerged from a challenging economic period with consumer and business confidence returning.

Australia is blessed with natural resources, stable rule of law, skilled human capital and other favourable conditions but we shouldn’t become complacent.

The challenge for 2025 and beyond is for Australia to see how it can realise long term benefit for the entire nation, from the abundance of resources that we have.

Outlook

What excites you heading into 2025? Are you likely to increase, hold steady, or trim your investment spend?

As a global company with operations across six continents, we take a global view around investment decisions. In 2025, we will continue to invest in innovation and technology that enhances operational efficiency, product quality and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. This is at the heart of our investment strategy across all our operations.

For example, our tertiary abatement projects at our ammonium nitrate manufacturing plants in Louisiana, Missouri and Moranbah, Queensland are both up and running.

Together they will remove more than 95 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions from the manufacturing process, supporting our decarbonisation efforts and, lowering the scope 3 GHG emissions of customers who buy from these plants.

Reform

As we move into an election year, in your mind, what’s the single biggest lever that can/should be used to lift Australia’s competitiveness or productivity? This could be across any area from labour market, tax reform, training or other areas to encourage investment.

Our biggest concern is securing long-term economic gas supply, an essential feedstock in the creation of ammonia, which we use to produce fertiliser for farmers and explosives for the mining sector.

We support decarbonisation and the transition to cleaner forms of energy, but not at the expense of the local economy and the loss of thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

Our ability to secure economic gas supply is make or break for our operations. Despite having a contract in place for gas at our Australian manufacturing facility at Phosphate Hill, our supplier is not delivering. Australia has some of the most abundant natural gas reserves in the world, yet we have a manufacturing sector that does not have certainty of supply.

As a result, we have been forced to procure gas in the East coast spot market over the last three years, with prices skyrocketing over the same period.

Lack of certainty around gas supply inhibits our ability to make long term investment decisions that could significantly boost productivity.

Our shareholders rightly expect us to take a global view on investment, and if we have more certainty in other countries, that’s where the money is more likely to go.

We are still investing in Australia, for example we automated our operations at Helidon, in the Lockyer Valley, where we manufacture initiating systems. This helped create a safer, cleaner and more efficient manufacturing facility with long term jobs that support the local community.

If Australia wants to have a vibrant industrial manufacturing sector and the jobs that provides, there must be sufficient and competitive energy available to support it.

Geopolitics

Will a Donald Trump presidency have a potential impact on your business or sector (tariffs or streamlined regulation)? Does geopolitics drive a bigger part of your decision-making?

Dyno Nobel Americas has a strong US manufacturing footprint with around 1700 employees across 43 locations including eight manufacturing sites. We think any potential international tariffs impacting Australian exports will be more than offset by support for our US based manufacturing of explosives systems, products and related technology.