UPDATED: 10/23/2017 — see Change Log

OWNER: Pallas Nitrogen Texas LLC
PROJECT: Ammonia plant restart[memberful does_not_have_subscription=”1314-ammonia-industry-annual-subscription,1311-ammonia-industry-monthly-subscription,3338-ammonia-industry-30-day-subscription”]

COST (reported): Unknown
JOB CREATION (reported): Unknown
START-UP DATE (reported): 2016

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia		660 stpd	[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] Air Products press release. Sources: linked below. [3] [Membership required]. Sources: linked below. [4] [Membership required]. See Methodology.

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SUMMARY STATUS:
Pallas Nitrogen announced its intention to reassemble an old ammonia loop, built in the late 1970s and last operated in 2004. The original plant had been designed to use byproduct hydrogen feedstock, and Pallas proposed to restart it at an Air Products facility, using pipeline hydrogen. However, the project became delayed and the most recent information, from 2016, was that Pallas anticipated start-up in 2017. However, it is unlikely that construction ever began.

COST: Unknown
JOB CREATION: Unknown
START-UP DATE: 2021 earliest estimate, was 3Q 2017 (originally 3Q 2016)
LIKELIHOOD: Unlikely — see Methodology

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia		660 stpd	650 stpd	215,230 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. [2] Air Products press release. Sources: linked below. [3] TCEQ permitting documents. Sources: linked below. [4] Adjusted Capacity is in metric tons per year assuming operations for 365 days per year; based on permit documents. See Methodology.

FEEDSTOCK: Hydrogen
END PRODUCTS: Ammonia

RESEARCH NOTES:
Pallas Nitrogen has yet to make any announcements but the company quietly completed “significant development, permitting and engineering” work in 2014 and 2015. Then, in October 2015, Air Products broke the news that Pallas would build and operate an ammonia plant on leased space at Air Products’ existing “industrial gas manufacturing location” in Pasadena.

In the original announcement, “full construction is expected to commence in the 4th quarter of 2015,” with ammonia production “anticipated to begin mid-2016.” However, by 2016, construction work had not begun and, by mid-2017, there was still no news to indicate that this project is moving forward.

According to e-mails from the project reps in June 2016, Pallas had “filed notice to proceed” with its construction firm, CCC Group, in May 2016, and was anticipating start-up in the late 2nd or early 3rd quarter of 2017. It is not clear to what extent any of that happened.

This new plant is, in fact, an old ammonia loop that Pallas intends to purchase, relocate, and reassemble.

The original plant was designed to use byproduct hydrogen, “off gas from a chlorine plant,” so there are no reformers or CO2 recovery units. While this reduces capex and construction time significantly, it also means that the restarted plant will have minimal environmental emissions, making the permitting process very simple. As far as I can tell, Pallas first submitted air permit documents in December 2014, and received TCEQ approval in January 2015.

Air Products was going to supply Pallas with hydrogen feedstock, at a rate of 44 million standard cubic feet per day, through its Gulf Coast Pipeline.

As yet, I have no information regarding project cost, ammonia offtake customers, or project financing.

The original plant was built in 1978 by M. W. Kellogg (now KBR), and operated by Georgia-Pacific (now Koch), at Plaquemine, LA, until it was shut down in 1986. The plant was later dismantled and shipped along the gulf to Oyster Creek, TX, (aka Freeport, TX) where it was operated by Coastal Corp (later El Paso Corp) from 2000 until 2004. [/memberful]

View larger map with all ammonia plants.

ADDRESS: 1423 Pasadena Freeway, Pasadena, Texas 77506, United States

WEBSITE: No content yet at http://pallasnitrogen.com/

REGULATORY SOURCES:

• USGS: Minerals Yearbook, Nitrogen [RECENT / ARCHIVE]
• Air Permitting: TCEQ permit summary [LINK] / TCEQ document archive (search: Pallas Nitrogen) [LINK]

NEWS SOURCES:

• 10/22/2015: Air Products press release: Air Products Wins Hydrogen Supply Agreement for Pallas’ Texas Project [LINK]
• UNDATED: Louisiana Chemical Equipment Company listing: 660 TPD Kellogg Ammonia Plant [LINK]