Yara International ASA said a Dec. 3 fire at its Porsgrunn #3 NPK plant in Herøya, Norway, was quickly put under control after an earlier explosion. Five people were injured, but none of the injuries were life threatening. Two individuals who were taken to the hospital were discharged shortly afterwards.
The police and fire crews who attended the emergency earlier in the day left the site in the afternoon. Yara said everyone who registered as entering the area was accounted for, and there are no missing persons. The affected area will remain evacuated, and staff debriefing was to continue on Dec. 4.
Yara said the cause of the explosion is not yet known, but there was no production ongoing at the plant at the time of the blast. An inquiry has been launched into the incident and will be carried out according to Yara procedures. Yara said it is too early to say anything about material damages.
There is no production at the facility as of Dec. 4. Yara told Green Markets that there is currently no assessment as to when the complex will return to operation.
The Porsgrunn site covers 1.5 square kilometers and is the largest industrial site in Norway. The complex has Yara and Europe’s largest installed production capacity for NPK complex fertilizers. The site has one ammonia plant, three nitric acid plants, two NPK plants, and one calcium nitrate (CN) plant. The facilities produce a wide range of NPK and calcium nitrate. About half of the volumes produced are sold overseas, mainly in Asia, with the balance sold in various countries in Europe. The ammonia, nitric acid, and fertilizer facilities also produce a range of gases and chemicals for industrial applications.
Yara said Dec. 1 it will permanently close its NPK plant in Kedainiai, Lithuania. NPK production at Yara’s site in Ravenna, Italy, will be temporarily stopped by mid-December.
The Kedainiai plant has an annual NPK production capacity of 250,000 mt. Yara says it is an old, sub-scale landlocked plant that became a Yara plant with the acquisition of Kemira GrowHow last year. The plant produces low-nitrogen NPK, PK, and P fertilizer based on purchased nutrients. The plant, which has 128 employees, has no competitive market advantage, lacks access to competitively priced raw materials, and would need significant investments to bring it up to Yara efficiency and quality standards.
The Ravenna plant has an annual production capacity of 300,000 mt NPK. The decision to stop production temporarily is related to the current slowdown in NPK deliveries. The timing of a restart will depend on market developments.
Yara said it will continue to fulfill customer contracts from built-up stock and alternative product sourcing, demonstrating Yara’s flexible business model.
Other recent shutdowns at Yara include Le Havre, France, (400,000 mt/y ammonia and 350,00 mt/y urea); Sluiskil, The Netherlands (900,000 mt/y ammonia and 200,000 mt/y urea); and Ferraro, Italy (600,000 mt/y ammonia and 500,000 mt/y urea). The company has also taken its Tringen II ammonia plant in Trinidad down for one month.