UPDATED: 07/23/2017 — see Change Log

OWNER: Dyno Nobel (Incitec Pivot Limited)
PROJECT: 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): $18 million in 1966
JOB CREATION (reported): 75 permanent — see Job Openings [LINK]
START-UP DATE (reported): 1966

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia	101,000 mtpy	[none given]	[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] Dyno Nobel has not published capacity data. [3] [Membership required]. Sources: linked below. [4] [Membership required]. See Methodology.

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SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
In operation since 1966, with a complicated ownership history, Dyno Nobel’s St Helens plant produces a range of nitrogen fertilizers. The next plant turnaround is scheduled for the second half of 2019.

COST: $18 million in 1966
JOB CREATION: 75 permanent — see Job Openings [LINK]
START-UP DATE: 1966

CAPACITY	USGS[1]	COMPANY[2]	PERMIT[3]	ADJUSTED[4]
Ammonia	101,000 mtpy	100,000 mtpy		108,426 mtpy GROSS
Urea		104,000 mtpy		104,000 mtpy GROSS
UAN				60,000 mtpy est.
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 gives no product capacity data. Agrium Fact Book 2016. Sources: linked below. [3] Air permits not available online. Sources: linked below. [4] Adjusted Capacity is in metric tons per year assuming operations for 365 days per year; based on data from USGS (ammonia) and Incitec Pivot, UAN capacity given as 52-week production, derived from 54,400 mtpy production over 48-weeks in 2016. See Methodology.

FEEDSTOCK: Natural gas
END PRODUCTS: Ammonia, urea, UAN, ammonium nitrate

RESEARCH NOTES:
In 1966, Shell Chemical Company built the St Helens ammonia-urea plant near Deer Island, Columbia County, at a cost of $18 million, with an initial ammonia capacity of 75,000 stpy.

In 1972, Reichhold Chemical Company bought it for $2.25 million, after the rising cost of natural gas had made the plant uneconomical. In 1985, CPEX Pacific bought the plant, and then sold it in 1987 to Chevron Chemical Inc. Chevron started trying to sell the plant in 1991, operating it with an annual ammonia capacity of 80,000 stpy until, in 1996, it was sold to Coastal Refining and Marketing Inc. Coastal was then acquired by El Paso Corp in 2001 for roughly $16 billion. Dyno Nobel purchased the St Helens plant in 2003 – and then, in 2008, Dyno Nobel was itself purchased by Australian company Incitec Pivot.

IPL has previously given the St Helens plant’s capacity as 180,000 stpy “urea equivalent,” but in its 2016 Annual Report, this was converted (metric v short tons) to “165,000 metric tonnes urea equivalent (St Helens nameplate).”

The company does not give any specific capacity information for end products, which include ammonia, aqua ammonia (30% and 19%), urea solutions (40% and 32.5%), urea prill, “ultra low biuret” urea pellets, ammonium nitrate solution (86%), and UAN. In 2016, St Helens produced 54,400 metric tons of UAN, according to IPL’s annual report.

In 2015, the St Helens plant was offline for eight weeks, from September through November, for its four-yearly planned turnaround and control system upgrade. The next scheduled turnaround will be in the second half of 2019.[/memberful]

View larger map with all ammonia plants.

ADDRESS: 63149 Columbia River Highway, Deer Island, Oregon 97054, United States

WEBSITE: http://www.dynonobel.com/
WEBSITE: http://www.incitecpivot.com.au/

REGULATORY SOURCES:

• USGS: Minerals Yearbook, Nitrogen [RECENT / ARCHIVE]
• Risk Management Plan: Right to Know Network: Dyno Nobel St. Helens Plant [LINK]
• Air Permit: Oregon DEQ, Air Quality Permit Detail Report, Dyno Nobel Incorporated [LINK]
• Water Quality Permit: Oregon DEQ, Water Quality Permit Search [LINK]

NEWS SOURCES:

• 07/07/2017: Incitec Pivot investor presentation: Company Overview [PDF]
• 11/18/2016: Incitec Pivot: Annual Report 2016 [PDF]
• 2016: Agrium Fact Book 2015-2016 [PDF]
• 09/21/1980: Eugene Register-Guard (via Google News): Natural Gas Discovery Saved Company [LINK]