All posts by mickeybarb@charter.net

CleanBay Signs LOI for Merger with BurTech

Featured, Green Hydrogen, Natural Gas, News, Specialty

CleanBay Renewables Inc., an enviro-tech company in Annapolis, Md., with a focus on renewable natural gas (RNG), green hydrogen, and controlled release fertilizer, announced that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) for a potential business combination with New York-based BurTech Acquisition Corp., a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company.

Under the LOI, CleanBay’s existing equity holders would convert 100% of their equity into the combined public company. The proposed transaction values CleanBay at $330 million. The BurTech trust account currently holds approximately $294 million in cash. BurTech expects to announce additional details regarding the proposed business combination when a definitive merger agreement is executed in the second quarter of 2023.

Founded in 2013, CleanBay utilizes anaerobic digestion and nutrient recovery technologies to produce RNG and organic fertilizer from poultry litter. The company has one shovel-ready project in Maryland, a second in Delaware that is expected to be shovel-ready in 4Q 2023, and a third in California for which CleanBay is securing permits after received a $540 million initial resolution from the California Pollution Control Financing Authority for revenue bonds.

“Our process converts agricultural byproducts into high-quality fertilizer, returning it back to the farming community to further support crop development and healthy soils,” said CleanBay CEO Donal Buckley. “As we continue to develop new facilities, we hope to become one of the largest single sources for climate-friendly fertilizer in the country.”

As part of its broader portfolio, CleanBay has identified 17 other potential project locations across the US. According to CleanBay’s management, at full capacity, each CleanBay bioconversion facility can recycle more than 150,000 tons of poultry litter annually, generating more than 750,000 mmBtus of RNG, 100,000 tons of fertilizer, 20,000 tons of clean hydrogen, and up to an estimated 1 million tons of CO2 equivalent carbon credits.

“We are excited to partner with CleanBay and believe that access to capital markets will enable CleanBay to commercialize and scale its proprietary and patented processes,” said BurTech Chairman and CEO Shahal Khan. “With nine identified facilities and eight potential future facilities in the pipeline, we believe that CleanBay will become a significant player in the North American RNG and natural fertilizer market.”

The two companies said concluding the business combination is subject to the completion of due diligence, the negotiation of a definitive agreement providing for the transaction, and approval of the transaction by the board and stockholders of both BurTech and CleanBay. They stressed that there is no assurance that a definitive agreement will be entered into or that the proposed transaction will be consummated on the terms or timeframe currently contemplated.

Meristem Crop Performance Group LLC – Management Brief

Eastern Cornbelt, Management Briefs, Western Cornbelt

Crop inputs supplier Meristem Crop Performance Group LLC, Columbus, Ohio, announced on March 23 that Shane Brockhoff has been named Meristem’s Regional Director, Iowa. He will work from his home in Walnut, Iowa.

Brockhoff previously served as a regional seed specialist for Landus Cooperative in Oakland, Iowa, and also spent nearly 10 years with AgriGold, a genetic seed supplier, before becoming division sales lead for AgReliant Genetics. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iowa State University in agronomy and crop science.

“We’re really grateful to have signed up Shane Brockhoff to help us carry out our mission of creating real productivity for farmers,” said Mitch Eviston, Meristem Founder and CEO. “I’m very happy we’ve added Shane to our all-star team and eager to turn him loose in Iowa to serve farmers with our growing portfolio of high-quality products.”

Amogy Secures $139 M in Funding to Bring First Product to Market in 2024

Ammonia, News, News Briefs

Ammonia-to-power technology provider Amogy Inc., Brooklyn, NY, on March 22 announced its $139 million Series B-1 fundraising to enable the company to advance commercialization and bring its first product to market in 2024. The round was led by SK Innovation, joined by other global investors including Temasek, Korea Zinc, Aramco Ventures, AP Ventures, MOL PLUS, Yanmar Ventures, Zeon Ventures, and DCVC.

“We are working from a place where we have no doubt that our technology will change the world,” said Seonghoon Woo, CEO of Amogy. “In 2021, CO2 emissions from transportation in the United States totaled 1.7 BMT – the most from any sector of the economy. This funding will help us to see our mission of forging a path toward net-zero 2050, and in turn, make the world more sustainable. We greatly appreciate the investors sharing our bold mission, and we are laser-focused to bring our technology to market.”

Amogy’s technology feeds liquid ammonia through its cracking modules integrated into a hybrid fuel cell system, which powers electric motors for zero-carbon transportations, including shipping. Amogy plans to present its ammonia-powered, zero-emission tugboat in late 2023 – which is three times larger than the system that was field-tested on Amogy’s ammonia-fueled semi truck earlier this year. Upon the successful sail of the tugboat later in 2023 in upstate New York, Amogy intends to present its first commercial offering in 2024.

Yara Clean Ammonia (YCA) will provide green ammonia for the demonstration. “We are excited to be a part of Amogy’s tugboat project and to deliver green ammonia as a fuel for the world’s first vessel powered by ammonia,” said Magnus Ankarstrand, YCA President. “Yara Clean Ammonia plans to launch the world’s first Ammonia Bunker Network in Scandinavia, which is expected to expand YCA’s capacity to produce and ship ammonia globally.”

“Amogy’s technology represents a key breakthrough in the usage of ammonia as a fuel, and we believe that it will revolutionize not only the maritime industry, but the entire transportation industry, said Jun Kim, Vice Chairman & CEO from SK Innovation. “We want to make sure Amogy has the resources it needs to make zero-emission shipping a reality.”

Tessenderlo Updates on New Plants, Potash Sourcing

Europe, News, News Briefs, Potash, Specialty

Brussels-based Tessenderlo Group at its earnings call on March 23 said construction has begun at Tessenderlo Kerley Inc.’s (TKI) new liquid fertilizer plant in Defiance, Ohio, starting with the new storage area for product distribution in the local area. The company now expects the plant to be operational at the end of 2024. Back in August last year, the company was targeting first operations in the first-half of 2024 (GM Sept. 3, 2022; Dec. 31, 2021).

The facility will focus on the company’s sulfur-based crop nutrition brands – Thio-Sul, KTS, and K-Row 23 – as well as sulfite chemistries for the industrial markets.

Tessenderlo Group also reported that TKI is pushing ahead with the construction of the new Thio-Sul plant in Geleen, The Netherlands, and said the new facility is expected to be operational by mid-2024. In late August last year, the company indicated the expected start-up had been pushed back from the first quarter of 2024 to the first half of 2024.

On a separate issue, and responding to an analyst’s question at the company’s earnings call, Tessenderlo Group Chairman and CFO Stefaan Haspeslagh confirmed that despite current sanctions on Belarus and Russia, the company is not experiencing any problems sourcing potash for its production of potassium sulfate. However, he did not comment on the likely volume evolution of the group’s SOP business in 2023 versus 2022.

Orica Expects Improved 1H Earnings

Australia, Earnings, News

Melbourne-based explosives manufacturer Orica Ltd. said on March 21 that the strength of the company’s performance in FY2022 has continued into the first half of the 2023 financial year, and expects to deliver better underlying earnings than the prior corresponding period.

Orica CEO Sanjeev Gandhi said the strength reflects “continued commercial discipline, strong global commodities demand and increasing earnings from new technologies.”

For the first half of FY2023, A$13.3 million, after tax, will be accrued for the up to A$90 million of earn-out that is part of Orica’s acquisition of Axis Mining Technology, completed in October last year (GM Aug. 5, 2022). The total earn-out is payable in early 2025.

In addition, both the sale proceeds of Orica’s share in its Turkish businesses and the release of the associated debit foreign currency translation reverse (FCTR) balance of $91.7 million after tax (of which A$45.1 million is attributable to non-controlling interests) will be recognized in the first-fiscal half. This will result in a net loss after tax of A$27.6 million attributable to shareholders of Orica.

The sale of Orica’s share of its Turkish businesses was completed last November for proceedings of US$12.75 million (A$19.0 million).

The company also announced the completion of the issuance of US$350 million equivalent of fixed rate unsecured notes in the US Private Placement (USPP) market. The proceeds raised will be used to prepay US$350 million of USPP notes originally due to mature in September this year.

Orica said it has no further financing requirements until May 2024.

For the half year ended March 31, 2022, Orica reported underlying EBIT of A$245 million and a Statutory Net loss After Tax of A$85 million, including A$214 million of significant items after tax.

For the full FY2022 year (ended Sept. 30), the company posted underlying EBIT of A$579 million and NPAT of $60 million, including A$257 million of significant items expense after tax (GM Nov. 11, 2022).

Tessenderlo FY2022 Agro Adj. EBITDA Up 7.4%; Lower FY23 Group Result Seen

Earnings, Europe, News, Specialty

Tessenderlo Group NV reported an Agro segment adjusted EBITDA of €173.4 million (approximately $187.3 million at current exchange rates), when excluding the foreign exchange effect, for the 12 months to Dec. 31, 2022, up 7.4% from the year-ago €147.4 million.

First-half 2022 adjusted EBITDA increased by 50%, with the company citing favorable market circumstances within Crop Vitality, Tessenderlo Kerley International and NovaSource.

However, lower sales volumes, cost increases that were fully reflected in the cost of goods sold, as well as inventory write-offs (€-7 million), led to a 37% lower second-half 2022 adjusted EBITDA of €51.8 million compared with the year-ago €72.3 million.

It noted an increase of the NovaSource adjusted EBITDA was more than offset by the decrease of Crop Vitality and Tessenderlo Kerley International.

Agro reported a 23% increase in 2022 revenue to €974.5 million, when excluding the foreign exchange effect, up from €749.3 million the previous year. The company attributed the higher revenue to an increase of sales prices, implemented in 2021 and first-half 2022 to compensate the high raw material, energy, and transport costs.

Second-half revenue only increased by 7%, to €428.6 million from €375.6 million as the second-half of the prior period (2H 2021) was already impacted by higher sales prices, while these historical high prices also negatively impacted demand, Tessenderlo noted.

However, Agro’s full-year 2022 revenue was positively impacted by the organic agricultural solutions revenue contributed by the business unit Violleau, which from 2022 has been included in the Agro segment. However, Tessenderlo said the Violleau unit’s contribution to the results is not considered to be significant.

Company-wide, Tessenderlo reported a 16.1% increase (when excluding the foreign exchange effect) in full-year adjusted EBITDA to €434.8 million on revenue of €2.59 billion, up from the year-ago €354.2 million and €2.08 billion, respectively.

The company posted an 18% increase in total comprehensive income for the year to €268.4 million, up from the year-ago €227.8 million.

Looking ahead, Tessenderlo anticipates a continued high level of economic uncertainty in 2023, putting the development of customer demand and sales margin under more pressure.

Based on currently available information, the company said it expects that FY2023 adjusted EBITDA will be lower than the 2022 pro forma adjusted EBITDA of €467 million.

The latter is the sum of the Tessenderlo Group 2022 adjusted EBITDA (€434.8 million) and the 2022 Picanol Group (Machines and Technologies segment) adjusted EBITDA (€32.2 million).

Tessenderlo said an anticipated increase in the Picanol Group adjusted EBITDA is expected to be more than offset by a decrease of the adjusted EBITDA of the other segments.

Picanol Group NV, Ypres (Ieper) became a business unit of Tessenderlo’s Machines & Technologies segment with effect from Jan. 1, 2023, after Tessenderlo secured 100% of the shares of Picanol. The two companies agreed last July to combine companies into one industrial group, eventually having one stock exchange listing and one Board of Directors (GM July 15, 2022).

The integrated group thus consists of the following five business segments: Agro, Bio-valorization, Industrial Solutions, Machines & Technologies, and T-Power.

Ammonia

Ammonia, California, China, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Market Watch, Middle East, Northwestern Europe, Pacific N.W., Tampa, U.S. Gulf, Western Canada, Western Cornbelt

US Gulf/Tampa:

Citing both plentiful ammonia supplies and low natural gas prices in Europe and the US, most sources expected a significant drop for Tampa ammonia in April. March was $590/mt CFR, down from February’s $790/mt CFR.

In the meantime, NOLA buyers said they have not waited for a fall at Tampa. NOLA barges were reported to have traded in the $480-$490/st FOB range, while others heard reports in the low $400s/st FOB.

Eastern Cornbelt:

Some preplant ammonia was reportedly being applied in southern Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee early in the week, but wet conditions continued to limit fieldwork in the rest of the Eastern Cornbelt.

“We are very wet, with heavy rain in the forecast,” commented one Illinois source at midweek. “Nothing is moving, and nothing is being bought.”

The last “official” prices for ammonia remained at $725-$750/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the low in Illinois and Indiana and the high at Lima, Ohio. One contact, however, described it as a “call and make an offer if you are a serious buyer” market, with “reasonable offers” in the mid-$600s/st FOB likely being considered for new business.

Western Cornbelt:

Ammonia remained at $670-$710/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported at Beatrice, Neb., and the high at Marshalltown, Iowa. Other terminal prices included $685/st FOB Sergeant Bluff, Iowa, and Palmyra, Mo., and $700/st FOB Iowa terminals at Garner, Fort Dodge, and Washington.

Some sources speculated, however, that a serious buyer could secure ammonia in the $625-$650/st FOB range without much trouble, though there was no actual business to confirm those levels.

California:

The anhydrous ammonia market remained at $980/st DEL in California, but aqua ammonia pricing was down $22/st from late February, to $237/st FOB Stockton and $247/st FOB Sycamore. “This pricing is set for the season,” said one source.

Pacific Northwest:

New offers for ammonia were reported at $710-$730/st DEL, below the previous $730-$775/st DEL range. Pricing out of Washington terminals remained at the $730/st FOB level in late March. Aqua ammonia was steady at $190/st FOB in the region.

Western Canada:

No current prices were confirmed for ammonia in Western Canada during the week. The last offers for spring ammonia in early March were reported at C$1,100-$1,300/mt FOB for April-June shipments, depending on location.

India:

Actual spot deals were non-existent, leaving the estimated spot price in the $450s/mt CFR. Sources said ammonia purchased under long-term contracts continues to flow in as needed. However, the demand for spot product is down while several DAP producers continue to keep plants closed for routine maintenance turnrounds.

Sources said when buyers inquire about spot tons, their price ideas are usually close to $400/mt CFR. So far, producers have not accepted pricing this low. One trader said, however, that given the current state of the global ammonia market, it will not be long before that price is achieved.

January ammonia imports were counted at 205,000 mt, Trade Data Monitor reported,a 71% jump from 120,000 mt in January 2022. The largest suppliers were Saudi Arabi with 102,000 mt, Bahrain with 53,000 mt, and Indonesia with 31,000 mt.

Middle East:

A lack of business in the spot market kept the Arab Gulf price in the $370s/mt FOB. The push from Indian buyers for prices closer to $400/mt CFR could lead to a netback of $350/mt FOB.

Northwest Europe:

The slowdown in the rest of the international ammonia markets was reflected in the lack of deals in Europe. The price in the area remains in the $450s/mt CFR.

The takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS is not expected to have a major impact on trading in Europe. Sources said the only companies that might have issues would be those that have their own internal problems, ones that would crop up while doing business with any bank.

One trader said that he does not expect to see a major shake-up in the areas of the bank that affect lines of credit for trading houses. Instead, the bank’s investment arm is most likely to see changes during the next six months.

China:

China is exporting more ammonia than it is importing, although sources said this may begin to change as ammonia prices fall. Softer global prices will offer fewer opportunities for Chinese ammonia producers and traders to sell to the world.

Once China stops shipping ammonia offshore, sources said the tons will probably be sent to domestic buyers instead, taking those buyers out of the global market.

January-February ammonia exports were reported at 103,000 mt, according to Trade Data Monitor, up from the year-ago 254 mt.Imports for the period totaled 56,000 mt, down 11% year-over-year from 62,000 mt.

February imports were 31,000 mt, compared to 16,000 mt imported in February 2022.

February exports were reported at 52,000 mt, against 98 mt shipped out during the same month in 2022. Turkey was the market’s largest buyer with 24,000 mt, followed by India with 11,000 mt.

Urea

Brazil, California, China, Eastern Cornbelt, India, Indonesia, Market Watch, Middle East, Pacific N.W., Poland, U.S. Gulf, Urea, Western Canada, Western Cornbelt

US Gulf:

NOLA barge trades were put in the $305-$327/st FOB range, narrowing from the week-ago $300-$335/st FOB. While early-week business suggested an increase for the week, $305-$310/st FOB trades reported later in the week lowered the average.

Eastern Cornbelt:

Urea was unchanged at $370-$390/st FOB in the Eastern Cornbelt, with the high out of inland terminals and the low confirmed at Cincinnati, Ohio, and out of Illinois River terminals.

Western Cornbelt:

Urea was quoted at $365-$390/st FOB in the Western Cornbelt, up slightly from last week, with the St. Louis, Mo., market pegged in the $365-$380/st FOB range. In the Northern Plains, the St. Paul, Minn., urea market edged up to $365-$385/st FOB with delivered tons reported in the $450-$470/st range in North Dakota.

California:

While reference pricing for bulk urea at Stockton, Calif., remained at the $650/st FOB mark, sources said $600/st FOB deals were possible at the port. Northern California sources reported recent rail-DEL urea offers at the $500/st level.

Pacific Northwest:

Urea was under pressure in the Pacific Northwest. The latest offers FOB Rivergate, Ore., were pegged at the $460/st FOB level, down from $500/st FOB, with the Aurora, Ore., price reported at $465/st FOB. Rail-DEL pricing was quoted in the $450-$475/st range, with the high in Montana.

Western Canada:

Urea pricing in Western Canada slipped to C$630-$640/mt FOB and C$670-$680/mt DEL, down from the last-confirmed C$640-$720/mt FOB and C$665-$730/mt DEL ranges.

India:     

Conflicting rumors circulated about when the next urea tender might take place. India’s fertilizer minister said the country will not need to buy urea on the spot market for the upcoming Kharif season, leading some to question if a new tender would even be held.

A few traders argued that it would make sense for India to call a tender in April to take advantage of the softening market. However, the bulk of sources said that by waiting until the end of May, when many had previously expected the next tender, India could push the price down even further.

The announcement by the fertilizer minister caused some concern. The minister told reporters that India had sufficient stockpiles on hand, and that with the anticipated volume of local production the country could handle the expected demand for urea and other nutrients until at least November.

The reserves the minister was counting on included the 1.1 million mt secured in the last tender, none of which has yet been delivered to India. He was also including contracted cargoes, such as the deal with OMIFCO to supply about 1 million mt/year in monthly shipments, in his tally.

India imported a total of 10 million mt of urea during 2022, according to Trade Data Monitor. Even with the higher prices the country was forced to pay due both to the war in Ukraine and China’s restrictions on exports, the total was higher than in 2021.

Calendar-Year India Urea Imports mt
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
7,086,084 5,945,111 5,465,686 11,196,083 11,152,615 8,112,989 10,101,039

In a separate announcement, government officials told local media that while less money was allocated for fertilizer subsidies in the upcoming fiscal-year budget, the government will not raise the price of subsidized urea. The price will remain at Rs242 per 45-kg bag ($65/mt).

Trade Data Monitor put January imports at 1.35 million mt, a roughly 35% increase from the year-ago 967,000 mt. China led suppliers with 254,000 mt, followed by Oman with 236,000 mt. Russia sent 173,000 mt, while an additional 153,000 mt was recorded coming from Finland. Sources speculated that the Finnish tons represented Russian material transported through Finland.

Black Sea:     

Sources in Asia estimated the price of Russian urea out of the Black Sea at $265-$270/mt FOB.

Indonesia:

The Pupuk/Kaltim tender from mid-March ended with bids for granular urea at $315-$330/mt FOB. In the end, however, the final sales came at $342/mt FOB, matching the bids for prilled urea.

Sources said a $315/mt FOB bid from Samsung only applied to a small volume of top-off tons, while Kaltim was reportedly more interested in moving at least 30,000 mt. When the producer sent out counters to the bids, sources said the company skipped over Samsung and went straight to Aries, which had bid $331/mt FOB for 30,000 mt. Kaltim used the high prilled bid of $342/mt FOB as its floor for the granular product.

At least one cargo was purchased at $342/mt FOB, only a slight drop from the previous sale at $349/mt FOB. Sources also reported four cargoes of prilled urea secured at $342/mt FOB. All of the tonnage was slated to ship in April.

Middle East:

Sources reported prices out of the Arab Gulf at $300-$305/mt FOB on deals signed by Oman.

Players expected the Arab Gulf price to keep falling after India made clear that it would buy just 1.1 million mt in its recent tender, as the market had been expecting India to take 1.5-2 million mt. Because of the Indian action, the market’s psychology has shifted to expect building reserves and few buyers.

There are reports that some cargoes from the Arab Gulf are heading to China. The product, said one source, is most likely for re-export. With a landed price of $340/mt FOB, the material is too expensive for the Indian tender, but within the market range for buyers in Southeast Asia. The landed price is lower than the current estimated price for Chinese product exports, and dramatically lower than the Chinese domestic price.

Egyptian producers are reportedly ready to accept $350/mt FOB for their product. Sources said the lack of buying interest out of Europe and a generally soft global market gives producers no other choice but to come down from their higher-pricing ideas. If the expected price is achieved, it would represent a drop of $20-$25/mt from the last-done business out of Egypt.

Sources reported that Algerian producers were also ready to accept the $350/mt FOB price, confirming the softer prices from North Africa.

China:   

Sources reported the domestic China market at $410-$415/mt ex-plant. At the same time, traders are quoting export prices at $370-$380/mt FOB.

The current pricing in China will exclude any Chinese product from supporting awards from the Indian urea tender. Going into the tender, sources were expecting to see at least a couple of cargoes from China in the offerings. The only sales coming out of China are reportedly small lots to regional buyers.

China is reluctant to export urea while the domestic season is still in full swing. Sources estimate the season will end in late April. At that point, said one trader, the excess urea built up by the government’s restrictive export policy will exert a great deal of downward pressure on prices.

Sources reported that material from the Arab Gulf is heading to China for $340/mt CFR. The material is expected to be re-exported to cover the demand of regional Southeast Asian buyers. These shipments are in addition to the Russian cargoes reported en route to China earlier in March.

January-February urea exports totaled 407,000 mt, Trade Data Monitor reported, a 72% increase from the year-ago 237,000 mt.

February 2023 exports were 166,000 mt, up 9% from 152,000 mt exported in February 2022. Mexico received 47,000 mt, South Korea bought 29,000 mt, and Chile took another 22,000 mt.

Brazil:

Traders keep saying the price floor has been hit. At the same time, the price keeps falling. Sources reported a slight dip to $310-$320/mt CFR, a price that some players said looks close to a positive barter ratio, which could lead to additional deals being cut in the near future.

The Rondonopolis price was down to $460-$490/mt FOB ex-warehouse. Weak buying demand provided a steady downward push on prices, and sources reported a strong reluctance to buy any material until absolutely needed. Buyers are reportedly unwilling to close any long-term deals because of an underlying expectation that the price will continue to drift downward.

The upper end of the Rondonopolis price range is tied to financing long-term purchases, such as those for September-November deliveries. The lower end of the range came from aggressive buyers looking to procure tons for immediate delivery.

Poland: 

Grupa Azoty on March 17 reduced prices on nitrogen and compound fertilizers sold through its authorized distribution network, “adjusting them to the current market conditions,” the company said. Azoty did not disclose the size of the reduction, only describing prices as “significantly lower.”

The company previously reduced prices by 20-30% on Feb. 1 (GM Feb. 3, p. 4). Azoty also cut prices by about Pln1,000/mt ($231/mt) last October.

UAN

California, Eastern Cornbelt, Market Watch, U.S. Gulf, UAN, Western Canada, Western Cornbelt

US Gulf:

UAN barge prices tightened to $275-$290/st ($8.59-$9.06/unit) FOB from the week-ago $270-$295/st ($8.44-$9.22/unit) FOB.

Eastern Cornbelt:

UAN-32 appeared to be firming in the Eastern Cornbelt. Most river terminals were quoted in the $320-$330/st ($10.00-$10.31/unit) FOB range for April-May tons, with the high pegged at $340-$345/st ($10.63-$10.78/unit) FOB out of spot Illinois River terminals for 2Q offers. The Cincinnati UAN-32 market was quoted at the $325-$330/st ($10.16-$10.31/unit) FOB level.

Western Cornbelt:

UAN-32 firmed to $320-$335/st ($10.00-$10.47/unit) in the Western Cornbelt, with the low reported at Port Neal, Iowa. The St. Louis market was pegged at $325-$335/st ($10.16-$10.47/unit) FOB, with the low for prompt tons and the high for April-May shipment. The Muscatine, Iowa, market was quoted at $330/st ($10.31/unit) FOB for April-May.

In the Southern Plains, new UAN-32 offers out of Oklahoma production points were pegged at $310/st ($9.69/unit) FOB for April-May, up from the previous $290-$295/st ($9.06-$9.22/unit) FOB level. The latest pricing in the Northern Plains included $365-$370/st ($11.41-$11.56/unit) FOB Winona, Minn., for April-May tons.

California:

The UAN-32 market in California fell to $380-$410/st ($11.88-$12.81/unit) FOB port terminals for March-April offers, below the prior $390-$420/st ($12.19-$13.13/unit) FOB level. Reference levels were reported at $390-$400/st ($12.19-$12.50/unit) FOB Stockton, $405/st ($12.66/unit) FOB Port Hueneme, and $410/st ($12.81/unit) FOB West Sacramento.

Rail-DEL UAN-32 offers in Northern California were pegged in the $360-$380/st ($11.25-$11.88/unit) range.

Pacific Northwest:

UAN-32 remained at $400/st ($12.50/unit) FOB Kennewick, Wash., with rail-DEL pricing reported at $395-$410/st ($12.34-$12.81/unit) in the Pacific Northwest.

Western Canada:

UAN-28 was quoted at C$430-$450/mt (C$15.36-$16.07/unit) DEL in Western Canada for the latest offers, down from C$450-$470/mt (C$16.07-$16.79/unit) DEL in early March.

Ammonium Nitrate

Ammonium Nitrate, Eastern Europe, Market Watch, Western Cornbelt

Western Cornbelt:

The latest offers for ammonium nitrate in Missouri were steady at $470/st FOB Lamar and $490/st FOB St. Joseph.

Bulgaria:

Neochim AD on March 24 halted production at its ammonium nitrate and turbo-generator station units at Dimitrovgrad in southern Bulgaria, following another emergency stoppage at the nitric acid unit that occurred in the early hours of March 24, according to a SeeNews report, citing a company filing.

The latest shutdown came just a day after the three units were restarted after an earlier emergency shutdown at the nitric acid unit on March 21.

The company has faced several production disruptions in recent months. Neochim resumed operations at its ammonia plant in late February after suffering technical issues at the facility on Jan. 10 and Jan. 23 (GM March 3, p. 27).

Neochim has the capacity to produce 450,000 mt/y of ammonia and 630,000 mt/y of ammonium nitrate at its Dimitrovgrad site.