Iofina (AIM:IOF) on Friday announced that its IO#12 IOsorb® plant in the Permian Basin has been commissioned, with brine water now flowing through the system ahead of production ramp-up.
The AIM-listed iodine producer and speciality chemicals manufacturer said the plant is undergoing hydrotesting, with output expected to begin and build over the coming weeks.
IO#12 is Iofina's largest-capacity plant to date and the first commercial-scale iodine production facility in the Permian Basin, built in partnership with Western Midstream Partners, which is supplying up to 50,000 barrels a day of produced water.
The company is targeting annual production of between 170 and 220 metric tonnes of crystalline iodine from the plant.
IO#12's commissioning follows a record first half for Iofina, in which crystalline iodine production rose 29% to 393.3 tonnes across its existing eight plants in Oklahoma, with revenue up 7% to $31.3m and adjusted EBITDA more than doubling to $6.6m.
"We now have our sights firmly set on simultaneously building our next two IOsorb® plants, IO#13 and IO#14, in the central Oklahoma core area, which we expect to be completed by the end of H1 2027 and have us firmly on course to reach our 2000MT target", said President and Chief Executive Officer Dr Tom Becker.
Oscar K. Brown, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Midstream, said the facility demonstrates what is possible when combining "Western Midstream's scale, infrastructure, and water expertise with Iofina's innovative iodine recovery technology".
Iofina has set a short-term target of exceeding 1,000 tonnes of annual crystalline iodine production, with IO#13 and IO#14 planned to come online before the end of the first half of 2027 as part of its stated objective to reach 2,000 tonnes a year.
Separately, today, Iofina released a trading update for its third quarter in which it lowered its guidance for the second half.
The Iofina Resources unit produced 205.2 metric tonnes of crystalline iodine in the quarter, down from 215.8 tonnes in the same period last year, a shortfall the company attributed to lower-than-expected water volumes at its plants, maintenance work, and delays completing the IO#11 pipeline and commissioning IO#12.
Suppliers in Iofina's central Oklahoma core area had to shut down certain disposal wells temporarily to carry out upgrades, though the company said water volumes have since begun improving as flows work back toward previous levels.
