UPDATED: 09/06/2017 — see Change Log

OWNER: Ohio Valley Resources LLC
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant[memberful does_not_have_subscription=”1314-ammonia-industry-annual-subscription,1311-ammonia-industry-monthly-subscription,3338-ammonia-industry-30-day-subscription”]

COST (reported): $1.2 billion last reported
JOB CREATION (reported): 80 permanent, 1,200 construction — no Job Openings posted yet
START-UP DATE (reported): 2017 last reported

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia		2,420 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] Company announcements. Sources: linked below. [3] [Membership required]. Sources: linked below. [4] [Membership required]. See Methodology.

[/memberful]

[memberful does_not_have_subscription=”1314-ammonia-industry-annual-subscription,1311-ammonia-industry-monthly-subscription,3338-ammonia-industry-30-day-subscription”]

[/memberful]

[memberful has_subscription=”1314-ammonia-industry-annual-subscription,1311-ammonia-industry-monthly-subscription,3338-ammonia-industry-30-day-subscription”]

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.

COST: $2 billion, was $1.2 billion, originally $952 million
JOB CREATION: 80 permanent, 1,200 construction — no Job Openings posted yet
START-UP DATE: 2022 earliest estimate, originally 2016
LIKELIHOOD: Unlikely — see Methodology

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia		2,420 stpd	2,800 stpd	927,143 mtpy
Nitric Acid			1,260 stpd	417,214 mtpy
Ammonium Nitrate			1,596 stpd	528,471 mtpy
UAN		3,000 stpd	3,000 stpd	993,367 mtpy
DEF		300 stpd		99,337 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] Company announcements. Sources: linked below. [3] IDEM, permit to construct, revised 03/03/2015. Sources: linked below. [4] Adjusted Capacity is in metric tons per year assuming operations for 365 days per year; based on permitted capacity. See Methodology.

FEEDSTOCK: Natural gas
END PRODUCTS: Ammonia, UAN, DEF

RESEARCH NOTES:
The Ohio Valley Resources (OVR) greenfield has been in financing limbo for some years, and is likely to stay there for some time.

As I understand it, the project’s potential new backers are unlikely to make any investment decision until the status of other greenfields becomes clear, especially the nearby ones: Cronus in Tuscola, IL, Midwest Fertilizer in Mt Vernon, IN and, new since mid-2016, Phibro in West Terre Haute, IN.

In March 2015, OVR missed its initial deadline to begin construction, but IDEM approved an 18-month extension on OVR’s permit to construct, giving it until September 2016 to break ground. In September 2016, IDEM extended the permit deadline again, giving OVR a new deadline to begin construction: March 25, 2018.

Both permit extension applications argued that “Finalization of project financing has delayed project construction.”

The last public news came in December 2013, when OVR announced an investment MOU with a Chinese firm, Tierra del Fuego Power and Chemical (TEQSA). That partnership is now long-gone, replaced by a new partnership with an established but undisclosed ag investor.

The 2016 permit extension application stated that “OVR is currently working with well-established organizations in the fertilizer business as potential investors. These efforts have been underway since 2015, and are still currently in active development.” Presumably, “active development” means watching the other greenfield projects to determine whether there would be sufficient demand in the local market for OVR to sell its fertilizers.

In its 2015 permit extension application, OVR updated the project cost: $2 billion, more than double the initial cost. OVR explained that “the process to obtain financial commitments with TEQSA has been lengthy and is ongoing,” but affirmed that “the parent organizations have approved the financial arrangements borne out of the negotiations after the MOU, and finalization of those arrangements is expected in 2015.” Of course, that didn’t happen.

In January 2014, OVR reps made presentations at local meetings, stating that they could break ground in early Spring 2014: “the only thing holding that progress is a break from the cold weather.” They also commented that the plant location, a mile from the Ohio River, provides access to the international export market.

At that time, the plant was slated to begin production in 2017 (originally 2016). As of mid-2017, 2022 now seems the earliest possible start-up date, given the work required to get the project back on track – if it moves forward at all.

The Spencer County location was announced December 2012. The air permit was approved September 2013 and extended in March 2015. In December 2013, OVR announced that they had selected Sinopec Engineering Inc to execute FEED and EPC with KBR (as announced in July 2012). The ammonia plant was going to use the “latest version of KBR’s purifier process.”

In December 2013, OVR also announced the financing agreement with the Chinese-Argentinian company Tierra del Fuego Power and Chemical Company (TEQSA, in Spanish). TEQSA started as a joint venture between Shaanxi Coal and Chemical Industry Group Co Ltd (a subsidiary of Shaanxi Coal Industry Co Ltd), Shaanxi Xinyida Investment Ltd, and Jinduicheng Molybdenum Group Co Ltd (a subsidiary of Shaanxi Youser Group). TEQSA was established in 2009 to build a urea plant in Argentina (that project, beset by delays, is not yet built and I’m guessing never will be); in 2012 it agreed to sell some of its equity to Argentine state entities and a local private company, Hugo Sigman’s Grupo Insud. I note that TEQSA’s website, which used to host a lot of content, including all the information above, recently disappeared from the internet (was: teqsa.net). [/memberful]

View larger map with all ammonia plants.

ADDRESS: 300-400 East County Route 350 North, Rockport, Indiana 47635, United States

WEBSITE: no website yet at http://ohiovalleyresources.com/

REGULATORY SOURCES:

• USGS: Minerals Yearbook, Nitrogen [RECENT / ARCHIVE]
• Permit Documents: IDEM document search (search #35491) [LINK], 2016 permit [PDF], 2015 permit [PDF], 2013 permit [PDF]

NEWS SOURCES:

• 11/26/2014: Spencer County Journal, local news story: Local economy is bright, LEDC head touts [LINK]
• 02/06/2014: Spencer County Journal, local news story: Ohio Valley Resources eager to break ground [LINK]
• 02/03/2014: DC Broadcasting local news coverage: Ohio Valley Resources Announces Plans for Spencer County Fertilizer Plant [LINK with audio]
• 12/19/2013: Ohio Valley Resources press release (PR Newswire): Ohio Valley Resources Enters into Memorandum of Understanding for Plant Development and Selects SEI for FEED and EPC Execution [LINK]
• 09/26/2013: Ohio Valley Resources press release (PR Newswire): Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant Project Builds Momentum With Receipt of Air Permit and Site Rezoning [LINK]
• UNDATED: KBR project profile: OVR Fertilizer Plant [PDF]
• 12/06/2012: Ohio Valley Resources press release (PR Newswire): Ohio Valley Resources Selects Site for New Fertilizer Facility: Spencer County Will Be Home to Billion-Dollar Plant [LINK]
• 09/26/2012: KBR press release: KBR to Provide License, FEED and EPC Proposal for Ohio Valley Resources LLC [LINK]
• 09/25/2012: Ohio Valley Resources press release (PR Newswire): Air Permit Filed for Billion-Dollar Fertilizer Facility [LINK]