Tag: DEF

American Falls, ID — Magnida

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 05/01/2017 — see Change Log

OWNER: Magnida (Magnolia Nitrogen Idaho LLC / Egypt Kuwait Holding Company)
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant

SUMMARY STATUS:
In September 2016, local news reports implied that Magnida was winding down. The project was first announced in 2013, as a revitalized fertilizer version of a power plant initially proposed in 2005. Magnida's equity was originally committed in full, but became uncertain when costs escalated and the project met with resistance, finally the sponsor pulled out and new equity partners could not be found.

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Becancour, QB — IFFCO

by Trevor Brown
Ammonia plant: Becancour, QB - IFFCO Canada

UPDATED: 04/02/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: IFFCO Canada (IFFCO joint venture)
PROJECT: Brownfield methanol-urea plant

SUMMARY STATUS: Planning
In December 2017, this proposed ammonia-urea plant was relaunched as Projet Bécancour: a methanol-urea production facility. IFFCO Canada is still the primary project sponsor, making good on its promise, when it put the plant on hold in October 2016, that "Le projet n'est pas mort." The brownfield plant was originally announced in 2012 for a 2017 start-up, but was put on hold repeatedly when construction costs ballooned from $1.2 to more than $2.0 billion, natural gas feedstock supply could not be secured, and the urea market tanked.

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Beulah, ND — Dakota Gas

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 10/01/2018 - see Change Log

OWNER: Dakota Gasification Company (Basin Electric Power Cooperative)
PROJECT: Existing plant, urea brownfield

SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
Dakota Gasification Company's new urea plant started up early in 2018, when granular urea became the 11th product made at the Great Plains Synfuels Plant (DEF became the 12th). Fertilizers now represent more than 50% of the entire plant's expected revenues. Construction on the new urea plant began in Summer 2014, and would have been completed by mid-2017 but destructive storms flattened the new urea storage building in 2016, which had to be demolished and the foundations ripped out before construction could restart. A small ammonia expansion was completed during the project.

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Borger, TX — Nutrien

by Trevor Brown
Ammonia plant: Borger, TX - Agrium

UPDATED: 02/06/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: Nutrien
PROJECT: Ammonia-Urea Plant, expansion & urea brownfield

SUMMARY STATUS: Ammonia expansion Cancelled, Urea brownfield Operational
In April 2017, Agrium "successfully commissioned" its brownfield urea plant at Borger, which had been under construction since March 2014, more than a year behind schedule and 10% over budget. An expected debottleneck of the ammonia line was cancelled in 2015. In January 2018, Nutrien was formed through a "merger of equals" between Agrium and PotashCorp that was originally announced in September 2016.

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Cherokee, AL — LSB Industries

by Trevor Brown
Ammonia plant: Cherokee, Alabama - LSB Industries

UPDATED: 03/22/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: Cherokee Nitrogen LLC (LSB Industries Inc)
PROJECT: Nitrogen production complex

SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
The Cherokee plant has been producing nitrogen fertilizers since 1961, and was acquired by LSB Industries in 2000. With repeated outages over the years, LSB is focused on improving reliability at the site, which serves agricultural and industrial markets; most recently, in 2Q 2017, the Cherokee site reported a 100% on-stream rate.

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Courtright, ON — CF Industries

by Trevor Brown
Ammonia plant: Courtright, Ontario - CF Industries

UPDATED: 09/02/2017 — see Change Log

OWNER: Terra International (Canada) Inc (CF Industries Holdings Inc)
PROJECT: Nitrogen production plant

SUMMARY STATUS:
The Courtright plant has been producing ammonia since 1966, with a second plant commissioned in 1985. Originally built by ICI, later acquired by Terra, it is now owned by CF Industries. An expansion of the urea plant is currently under construction.

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Tuscola, IL — Cronus Chemical

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 10/02/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: Cronus Fertilizers (Cronus Chemicals LLC)
PROJECT: Greenfield ammonia plant

SUMMARY STATUS: Financing phase
In October 2018, Cronus announced that it had awarded an EPC contract, with revised project scope. Awaiting financial close, before construction can begin; no groundbreaking yet. In August 2017, Cronus had also announced a reconfigured project, with a reduced capacity, lower capex, and a more realistic schedule. Also in 2017, its original air permit expired, after many extensions, and Cronus must now apply for and receive a new air permit before construction can begin. This project has been repeatedly postponed over the years.

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Donaldsonville, LA — CF Industries

by Trevor Brown
Ammonia plant: Donaldsonville, LA - CF Industries

UPDATED: 09/27/2017 — see Change Log

OWNER: CF Industries Nitrogen LLC (CF Industries Holdings Inc)
PROJECT: Nitrogen fertilizer complex, Brownfield ammonia-urea-UAN plant

SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
Donaldsonville began producing ammonia in 1966. Today, the site is a collection of individual plants, variously owned across the decades by CF Industries as well as Terra, Triad, Mississippi Chemical, First Mississippi, and Ampro. The new ammonia plant was due to start-up in early 2016, but only became operational in October 2016; the new urea plant was commissioned in November 2015, and the new UAN plant in March 2016. Donaldsonville is now "the largest nitrogen facility in the world."

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East Dubuque, IL — CVR Partners

by Trevor Brown
Ammonia plant: East Dubuque, IL - Rentech Nitrogen

UPDATED: 04/30/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: East Dubuque Nitrogen Fertilizers, LLC (CVR Partners LP / CVR Energy Inc)
PROJECT: Nitrogen fertilizer plant

SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
The East Dubuque nitrogen plant started up in 1965. Rentech completed expansions of the urea line in 2013 and the ammonia line in 2014. In April 2016, Rentech and CVR Partners merged, and the plant now operates as a subsidiary of CVR. Also in 2016, CVR completed minor expansion work on its ammonia plant.

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Geismar, LA — Nutrien

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 03/19/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: Nutrien
PROJECT: Nitrogen plant, restart, expansion and urea brownfield

SUMMARY STATUS: Operational, Planning Phase
The Geismar ammonia plant started up in 1967 but was idled in 2003, due to the high cost of natural gas feedstock. PotashCorp restarted the plant in February 2013 at a cost of $260 million. Air permit documents reveal plans for significant future expansions. In January 2018, Nutrien was formed through a "merger of equals" between Agrium and PotashCorp that was originally announced in September 2016.

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Grand Forks, ND — Northern Plains Nitrogen

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 05/14/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: Northern Plains Nitrogen (NPN)
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant

SUMMARY STATUS: Planning phase
World-scale greenfield project led by farmers' co-ops. Seed capital raise exceeded expectations, January 2014. Water permits approved, December 2014; air permit approved, August 2015. Thereafter, project severely delayed: fund-raising was complicated by the commodity price drop. Awaiting FEED study, EPC contract, and financial close. In April 2018, the project was reportedly still "alive and well ... [although] we’re definitely not where we thought we’d be."

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Lima, OH — Nutrien

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 02/01/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: Nutrien
PROJECT: Nitrogen fertilizer plant, expansion

SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
Announced in 2013, PotashCorp's latest ammonia expansion came online in October 2015 after a 7-week turnaround. The urea expansion came online in 2014. The Lima site has been producing ammonia since 1955. In January 2018, Nutrien was formed through a "merger of equals" between Agrium and PotashCorp that was originally announced in September 2016.

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Mt Vernon, IN — Midwest Fertilizer

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 05/01/2018 — see Change Log

OWNER: Midwest Fertilizer Company LLC (Fatima Group)
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer complex

SUMMARY STATUS: Planning phase
Major setbacks in 2016, when the EPC contract was awarded and then fell apart following a corruption scandal and a failure to secure equity financing. Major setbacks predicted in 2017 and confirmed in 2018, related to debt financing. Air permits were extended in 2017 but any progress now depends on winning a legal argument with the IRS.

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Rockport, IN — Ohio Valley Resources

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 09/06/2016 — see Change Log

OWNER: Ohio Valley Resources
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant

SUMMARY STATUS: Financing Phase
Air permit was granted in September 2013; extended in March 2015 and extended again in September 2016. Two major companies awarded FEED and EPC in December 2013; agreements now presumed expired. Financing MOUs in place with foreign investors, February 2014; expired. "Finalization of project financing has delayed project construction." Any announcement of a new project sponsor - or project abandonment - is unlikely until the status of other, nearby greenfields is confirmed.

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Spiritwood, ND — CHS

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 08/24/2015

OWNER: CHS Inc
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant

SUMMARY STATUS: Cancelled
CHS gave its $3.3 billion greenfield the green light in September 2014, and cancelled it in August 2015. The project faced intractable issues securing an adequate supply of water, and was beset by spiraling costs. CHS is purchasing a minority stake in CF Industries instead.

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Wever, IA — OCI

by Trevor Brown

UPDATED: 11/14/2017 — see Change Log.

OWNER: Iowa Fertilizer Company (OCI NV / Orascom)
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant

SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
OCI announced the start-up of the ammonia plant in April 2017 but, while the site is mechanically complete and all the downstream plants are capable of production above nameplate capacity, the ammonia plant had trouble ramping up and OCI only acknowledged "Provisional Acceptance" of the project in mid-October. Despite OCI's first-mover advantage, the Wever plant is now two years delayed and more than a billion dollars over budget. OCI wanted to do mergers and acquisitions but didn't have much success: it failed to merge with CF Industries in 2016 and failed to buy out its subsidiary, OCI Partners, in 2017.

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