UPDATED: 09/02/2017 — see Change Log

OWNER: Terra International (Canada) Inc (CF Industries Holdings Inc)
PROJECT: Nitrogen production plant[memberful does_not_have_subscription=”1314-ammonia-industry-annual-subscription,1311-ammonia-industry-monthly-subscription,3338-ammonia-industry-30-day-subscription”]

COST (reported): None given
JOB CREATION (reported): 200 permanent — see Job Openings [LINK]
START-UP DATE (reported): 1966

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia		500,000 stpy	[Membership required]	[Membership required]
Units: stpd, stpy, mtpd, mtpy = short/metric tons per day/year. [1] United States Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Yearbook, Nitrogen gives capacity in metric tons per year, calculated as “engineering design capacity adjusted for 340 days per year of effective production capability,” rounded to three significant digits. Source: most recent year, Table 4: Domestic Producers of Ammonia, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/nitrogen/. [2] CF Industries 2016 10-K. Sources: linked below. [3] [Membership required]. Sources: linked below. [4] [Membership required]. See Methodology.

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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.

COST: $50 million in 1966
JOB CREATION: 200 permanent — see Job Openings [LINK]
START-UP DATE: 1966, 1985

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia		500,000 stpy GROSS 265,000 stpy NET		473,032 mtpy GROSS 240,404 mtpy NET
Urea		EXISTING: 160,000 stpy NET EXPANSION: 130,000 stpy NET		EXISTING: 265,607 mtpy GROSS 145,150 mtpy NET EXPANSION: 117,934 mtpy NET POST-EXPANSION: 401,500 mtpy GROSS 263,084 mtpy NET
UAN		345,000 stpy		326,392 mtpy
Units: stpd, stpy, mtpd, mtpy = short/metric tons per day/year. [1] United States Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Yearbook, Nitrogen gives capacity in metric tons per year, calculated as “engineering design capacity adjusted for 340 days per year of effective production capability,” rounded to three significant digits. Source: most recent year, Table 4: Domestic Producers of Ammonia, http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/nitrogen/. [2] CF Industries 2016 10-K, assumes average operation for 350 days per year; expansion capacity from local press reports. Sources: linked below. [3] No permits available online in Ontario. [4] Adjusted Capacity is in metric tons per year assuming operations for 365 days per year; based on company reports, existing urea gross capacity estimated as net plus required UAN feedstock, post-expansion urea gross capacity based on Casale announcement of 1,100 mtpd. See Methodology.

FEEDSTOCK: Natural gas
END PRODUCTS: Ammonia (anhydrous & aqua), Urea (granular & liquor), DEF, Nitric Acid, UAN

RESEARCH NOTES:
In June 2015, CF Industries announced an expansion of its urea line, which will allow it to upgrade more of its ammonia into “additional urea-based products,” with a focus on DEF.

The debottleneck project has an “estimated cost of $85 million (approximately CAD $105 million),” and is due to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017, “concurrent with a scheduled turnaround of the urea plant.” Local press specified that “capacity for products including diesel exhaust fluid, granular urea and urea liquor, will increase by 130,000 tons.”

While CF Industries has been so focused on its major capacity expansion projects in Donaldsonville, LA, and Port Neal, IA, it has made almost no mention of its Courtright expansion since the 2015 announcement.

In May 2015, Casale announced that it had been awarded the contract to “provide licensing, basic and detail engineering, supply of all itemized equipment and technical site assistance services” for the urea expansion. Casale’s target was “to increase the output by 50%, in order to reach 1100 MTD.”

Product ships out by rail and truck. The plant is near Sarnia in St. Clair Township.

The Courtright plant started production in 1965. It was originally known as the CIL Lambton Works and had an ammonia capacity of 1,000 stpd, as well as production units for urea, nitric acid, ammonium nitrate, ammonium phosphate, and phosphoric acid. It was built for $50 million by Canadian Industries Ltd (CIL), the Canadian subsidiary of UK company Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI, now Akzo Nobel), and operated in later years under ICI Nitrogen and ICI Canada.

In 1985, CIL Inc commissioned ammonia plant II, for C$200 million, with a capacity of 1,200 stpd – this was the first commercial installation to use ICI’s low-energy AMV process technology.

In 1993, Terra Industries purchased the plant from ICI and, in 1997, Terra stopped producing ammonium nitrate and increased UAN output. In 2010, CF Industries acquired Terra, in a deal that created the second largest nitrogen company in the world.[/memberful]

View larger map with all ammonia plants.

ADDRESS: 161 Bickford Line, Courtright, Ontario, N0N 1H0, Canada

WEBSITE: http://www.cfindustries.com/plants_courtright-on.html

REGULATORY SOURCES:

• USGS: Minerals Yearbook, Nitrogen [RECENT / ARCHIVE]
• US Securities and Exchange Commission filings: EDGAR Search Results, CF Industries Holdings, Inc. CIK#: 0001324404 [LINK]
• Environment and Climate Change Canada: National Pollutant Release Inventory, Facility & Substance Information: Courtright Nitrogen Complex [LINK]

NEWS SOURCES:

• 08/31/2017: Sarnia Observer: Courtright facility receives company excellence in safety honour [LINK]
• 12/14/2016: CF Industries press release: CF’s Courtright Nitrogen Complex Marks 50 Years of Operations [LINK]
• 06/18/2015: Blackburn News: CF Industries Announces Expansion [LINK]
• 06/18/2015: CF Industries press release: CF Industries to Increase Production of Urea-Based Products at Courtright Nitrogen Complex in Ontario [LINK]
• 03/10/2010: CF Industries press release: CF Industries and Terra Industries Agree to Combine, Creating a Global Industry Leader [PDF]