All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

JPMC to Buy Mitsubishi’s Stake in Nippon Jordan Fertilizers Co.

Di-Ammonium Phosphate, Japan, Jordan, News, News Briefs, NPK

Jordan Phosphate Mines Co. (JPMC) has signed an agreement to purchase Mitsubishi Corp.’s, Tokyo, entire shareholding in Aqaba-based Nippon Jordan Fertilizers Co. (NJIF), raising JPMC’s stake in the company to 80 percent.

The stake comprises 1,672,800 shares, or about 10 percent of NJIF’s capital, JPMC said in a filing to the Amman Stock Exchange on Sept. 14. The Jordanian company did not disclose the price tag on the deal.

In April, JPMC had said it was planning to sell its entire 70 percent stake in NJIF, and had secured board approval for the sale (GM April 30, p. 33). The company said it was conducting an economic feasibility study, and would target the best prices for the sale of the shares.

It is unclear if this week’s share purchase indicates a reversal of JPMC’s decision to sell its shareholding, or forms part of the original sale plan. JPMC had not responded to inquiries for comment by press time.

Based in Aqaba, NJFC was established in 1992 (GM June 22, 1992) and began operations in 1999. It produces compound fertilizers and DAP, with a production capacity of 300,000 mt/y. DAP and NPK production last year was 224,678 mt, up from 197,404 mt in 2019, while sales were 207,667 mt, up from 2019’s 176,577 mt, according to information on JPMC’s website.

India Targets Commercial Production of New Nano DAP Product

DAP/MAP, India, News, News Briefs, Specialty

India’s government has directed Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd. (IFFCO) and other of the country’s fertilizer producers to start the production of Nano DAP within a year to reduce import DAP dependence, according to Indian media reports this week.

The directive from India’s Union Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, follows the successful introduction of Nano Urea Liquid by IFFCO early this summer (GM June 4. p. 32).

The fertilizer cooperative is reported to already have conducted field trials for the new Nano DAP product on 24 crops in 2,000 farms, and is reporting “encouraging” results, according to the media reports.

Grodno Azot Halts Operations at Ammonia-3 and Urea-3 Units

Ammonia, Belarus, News, News Briefs, Urea

Belarus state-owned nitrogen fertilizer producer Grodno Azot is reported to have halted operations at its Ammonia-3 and Urea-3 production units since Sept. 10. Repair work is being undertaken and will be carried out over 25 days, according to the Belarusian producer.

Grodno said there was “no threat from the plants to workers, city residents, or the environment.”

The Urea-3 unit and an associated nitric acid unit had suffered an unscheduled shutdown in July, according to a Charter 97 report.

The producer has suffered a number of unscheduled shutdowns at various of its production units over the past 13-14 months, some of which have allegedly been due to worker sabotage.

Waggaman Plant Expected Offline Four Weeks; Loss to EBIT US$28 M

Ammonia, Australia, Featured, Louisiana, News

Incitec Pivot Ltd., Southbank, Australia, gave an update on its Waggaman, La., ammonia plant on Sept. 13, saying the plant is expected to be offline for a total of four weeks. The company said after running at nameplate capacity since its restart at the end of May, the Waggaman plant was brought down on Saturday, Aug. 28, in anticipation of Hurricane Ida. 

IPL said inspections undertaken since Ida have not identified any material damage to the plant and the plant’s restart has been awaiting restoration of high voltage industrial power and utilities from third-party providers. Factoring in the anticipated restoration of power and utilities, the total outage is expected to be approximately four weeks from the date the plant was brought down.

Based on current market prices for ammonia, and the planned restart schedule, the loss of earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) is approximately US$28 million. The company said the figure reflects that IPL called force majeure under its customer contracts for the supply of ammonia from the plant.

J.R. Simplot Co. – Management Brief

Management Briefs

Christopher Morgan will be the new Vice President, Mining and Manufacturing, for the J.R. Simplot Co.’s AgriBusiness Division, effective Sept. 27, 2021.

“Chris’ extensive experience in escalating roles, dedication to safety and operational excellence, and commitment to environmental leadership make him an ideal fit for AgriBusiness and the J.R. Simplot Co.,” said Doug Stone, President of the company’s AgriBusiness group. “I look forward to the continued growth and opportunity he will help bring to our company and our customers.”

Simplot said Morgan was most recently Site Manager for Incitec Pivot Ltd./Dyno Nobel’s Waggaman, La., flagship ammonia production facility for the past eight years. In that role he led the facility through the commissioning and start-up, improving employee safety by lowering injury rates and increasing annual production performance 30 percent through a strong focus on root cause and risk management.

Previously, Morgan spent nine years with The Mosaic Co., where he saw increasing responsibilities in their ammonium phosphate facilities, including oversight of two chemical complexes in Louisiana producing sulfuric and phosphoric acid, ammonia, and ammonium phosphate fertilizers. He also has more than six years of experience working for Cargill Crop Nutrition in Florida.

Salt Lake Potash – Management Brief

Australia, Management Briefs, Specialty, Sulfate of Potash

Australian junior sulfate of potash (SOP) producer Salt Lake Potash (SO4), Perth, which is developing the Lake Way Project in Western Australia, announced on Sept. 13 that Isak Buitendag has been appointed CEO of the company, subject to requotation of the company’s securities on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). SO4 shares remain in voluntary suspension until Sept. 27 pending the finalization and release of an announcement by the company in relation to an update on the project.

Former CEO Tony Swiericzuk resigned in late August (GM Aug. 27, p. 27), about one month after SO4 announced that it had revised its SOP production ramp up and would require more funding to continue operations (GM July 30, p. 1).

SO4 anticipates that Buitendag will be appointed CEO no later than Nov. 15, 2021. He will be joining the company from his position as General Manager of Transformation at Kazzinc, which is majority owned by Glencore. Previously, he was Vice President of Operations and Vice President of Development at Kazchrome. He also has held executive levels positions with BHP and Fortescue.

Itafos – Management Brief

Houston, TX, Management Briefs

Itafos, Houston, has announced the appointment of Ryan Doyle as Sales Director for North America, effective Oct. 1, 2021. He previously worked at International Raw Materials and holds a B.A. from Georgetown University.

“Ryan is a seasoned executive, with an extensive track record of international trading and portfolio expansion,” said David Delaney, Itafos CEO. “Ryan will enhance our sales strategy in North America and strengthen relationships with our valuable customers.”

Doyle will be based at the Itafos corporate office in Chicago.

Alex Benedetti, Commercial Director, will continue to lead other commercial areas, such as market intelligence, product stewardship, logistics and supply chain, and further strategic projects involving Itafos international assets.

Indiana Co-op Merger Forms Premier Companies

Eastern Cornbelt, Featured, News

Two southern Indiana cooperatives – Premier Ag Co-op Inc. in Seymour and White River Cooperative in Loogootee – completed a merger on Sept. 1, with the combined company operating under the Premier Companies name.

“This merger of cooperatives who shared similar cultures and unique understanding of agriculture and energy markets will enable us to offer ever-growing expertise and offerings to our customers,” said Harold Cooper, Premier Companies CEO. “Today, going forward as Premier Companies, we are proud to remain locally owned by our neighbors here in southern Indiana, and we will return earnings locally to our member-owners.”

Premier said the combined cooperative will organize in two separate divisions. Premier Ag will offer integrated agronomic and agricultural services, including crop inputs, grain marketing services, and pork facilities management through SwineLink. Premier Ag also includes Truterra LLC, the sustainability business of Land O’Lakes Inc. that was formerly known as Sustain.

Premier Energy will offer premium fuels, heating oil, and propane from CountryMark Fuel, a farmer-owned refinery in Mount Vernon, Ind., that processes 30,000 barrels of local crude oil per day. Both Premier and White River have ownership stakes in CountryMark Fuel.

Cooper said White River was an attractive partner for Premier because of its similar culture, its shared access to the Ohio River, and the fact that Premier and White River were two of only three cooperatives in Indiana that are involved in livestock production.

“Co-ops have seen the need to gain size and scale to remain relevant and competitive in agriculture,” Cooper said. “In this geography, we can compete with anyone on a peer-to-peer basis, and really make sure that a farmer-owned choice and a farmer-owned influence is always in the market.”

Premier Ag Co-op was the first agricultural cooperative formed in Indiana, launching in 1927 and growing to more than 3,000 members from Indiana locations in Greensburg, Hope, Trafalgar, Seymour, Cortland, Brownstown, Crothersville, Boggstown, Salem, Corydon, and Harrison, Ohio. White River provided products and services in seed, fertilizer, crop protection, swine operations, propane and petroleum, and grain from feed mills and facilities in Loogootee and Worthington.

Mosaic’s August Revenues Up on Lower Volumes

Earnings, News, Phosphate, Potash, Tampa

The Mosaic Co., Tampa, reported higher sales volumes for the month of August 2021 versus the year-ago month for all three major divisions – Potash, Mosaic Fertilizantes, and Phosphates. Each division also reported lower volumes in August 2021 than in the year-ago month.

Potash August 2021 August 2020
Sales volumes (000 mt) 610 741
Sales revenue in millions $196 $154
Mosaic Fertilizantes August 2021 August 2020
Sales volumes (000 mt) 1,134 1,266
Sales revenue in millions $602 $393
Phosphates August 2021 August 2020
Sales volumes (000 mt) 666 743
Sales revenue in millions $465 $261

Trammo, Lotte Ink Green NH3 Deal

Green Ammonia, News, News Briefs, South Korea

Trammo DMCC, Dubai, a subsidiary of Trammo Inc., New York City, and Lotte Fine Chemical Co. Ltd., Seoul, a diversified chemical manufacturer in Korea, have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for green ammonia supply.

Trammo, a major marketer and transporter of ammonia, will supply green ammonia to Lotte Fine Chemical, the largest ammonia buyer in Asia. Both companies share the common goal of becoming pioneers in the development of the green ammonia and green energy markets in the region, and they said the MOU is the first one for green ammonia supply in Korea.

“After several years of collaboration, we are extremely pleased to strengthen further our ties with Lotte Fine Chemical,” said Christophe Savi, Head of Trammo’s Ammonia Division. “We have no doubt that both companies share a common vision and a philosophy which will allow our partnership to continuously grow in the years to come, especially in servicing the global decarbonization process and in finding innovative logistic solutions for the marketplace. Lotte Fine Chemical have been for many years successfully coordinating one of the largest world ammonia hubs and we are proud to contribute in the expansion of their footprint through an ambitious green ammonia distribution project in Korea”