New Orleans area fertilizer producers are slowly returning from the shutdowns they took in preparation for Hurricane Gustav. CF Industries Holdings Inc. said Sept 9 that that electrical power and natural gas supplies have been restored to its Donaldsonville, La., nitrogen complex and that the company had begun testing circuitry and equipment in preparation for startup. With electrical power restored, CF expected to begin shipments from inventory at the complex Sept. 9.
“We expect to begin an orderly production startup by mid-week, provided that Hurricane Ike doesn’t develop into a threat to the Gulf Coast and the complex,” explained Stephen Wilson, CF chairman and CEO. If startup proceeds as currently expected, all units at the complex could be in production by late next week.
In the meantime, Terra Industries Inc. said Sept. 11 that utilities had been restored to its Donaldsonville ammonia plant and that damage repairs are almost complete. Terra said it would be attempting to restart the plant over the next few days.
The Mosaic Co.’s Faustina phosphate processing plant was still out of service last week.
Power returned to PotashCorp’s Geismar, La., facility over the weekend. The majority of the units were back in service by Sept. 11. However, the company was keeping a close eye on Hurricane Ike, which was headed toward Texas between Corpus Christi and the Texas/Louisiana border.
BASF, which owns several major chemical facilities along the Texas Coast, told Green Markets Sept. 11 that it was closing all of its Texas Coast facilities in preparation for Ike. These include a facility at Freeport that produces ammonium sulfate as well as plants in Port Arthur, Pasadena, Beaumont, and Clear Lake. Non-essential employees were told to leave Sept. 10, according to a BASF spokesman, who said on Sept. 11 that the remainder were expected to leave within 24-36 hours.
The Agrifos Fertilizer Inc. phosphate plant in Pasadena was also reported to be going down in preparation for Ike. LSB Industries Inc. confirmed that it was taking down its Baytown, Texas, industrial nitrogen plant as a precaution.
In addition, refineries along the coast were also closing down, including ExxonMobil’s at Baytown.
Ike was slated to hit sometime Friday night or Saturday morning. The National Hurricane Center as of Sept. 11 was projecting it would hit land as a Category 3 (111-130 mph). Evacuations were underway in Galveston and Houston.