I've published recent updates on four greenfield nitrogen plants that hope to break ground in 2017, potentially adding 1.8 million tons of ammonia capacity in the US.
The project pipeline is long, however, and others are making progress too. This article provides updates on another four projects that, together, could add more than 4 million tons to North American ammonia capacity through 2022.
UPDATED: 10/03/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: Farmers of North America (FNA)
PROJECT: Greenfield nitrogen fertilizer plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Planning phase
FNA is "moving steadily" towards building its own nitrogen fertilizer plant, starting with the establishment of a fertilizer and grain sales and distribution business. In 2017, FNA broke ground on the first of its distribution "supercentres," at Belle Plaine, (delayed from 2016). FNA began work on this project in 2010 and the pre-FEED study for the nitrogen production complex is complete, but FNA still needs to find a major equity investor and a partner to operate the plant.
UPDATED: 10/19/2017 — see Change Log
OWNER: Yara Belle Plaine Inc (Yara International ASA)
PROJECT: Nitrogen fertilizer complex and brownfield ammonia-urea plant
SUMMARY STATUS: Operational
Built in 1992, the Saskferco project was, until 2016, the newest world-scale, natural gas-based ammonia plant in North America. It was purchased by Yara in 2008, and expanded in 2008-9. Yara considered building a new brownfield ammonia-urea plant but, in 2013, cancelled those plans because costs grew too high and it had concerns about overcapacity.