Tiger-Sul Inc. tells Green Markets that the condition of its Atmore, Ala., was not a total loss, as was reported by the local fire chief (GM Aug. 4, p. 1). “We believe that assessment is overstated, and that’s due in large part to the exceptional efforts of Chief Peebles’ crew and the other fire departments and first responders who worked hard to ensure the personal safety of those in the community while also trying to limit the damage done to the site,” Tiger-Sul Marketing Manager Usman Khalid told Green Markets.

“Because of their efforts only a section of the facility was impacted,” he added. “The facility has been released to us and we have already begun the cleanup and assessment. Our team is committed to bringing it back up as soon as possible. We’re pleased to report the facility is now open and the warehousing operations have started. In addition, our molten sulfur operations will be operational in a couple of weeks. Plus with some basic refurbishing we will be in a position to start production in a reasonably short amount of time.”

OCI Partners LP reported a net loss of $1 million on revenues of $74 million for the second quarter ending June 30, 2017, an improvement over the year-ago loss of $15 million on revenues of $56 million. Despite the uptick, the company says results were negatively impacted by unplanned outages in April and May that reduced ammonia utilization to 87 percent and methanol to 72 percent.

For the first six months, the company was in the black at $12 million on revenues of $167 million, up from a year-ago loss of $22 million on $126 million, respectively.

CF Industries Holdings Inc. reported second-quarter net income attributable to common stockholders of $3 million ($0.01 per diluted share) on net sales of $1.12 billion, down from the year-ago $47 million ($0.20 per share) and $1.13 billion, respectively.

“The CF team delivered outstanding operational performance during the second quarter,” said Tony Will, CF president and CEO. “We ran our plants safely and at high utilization rates, sold record volumes and delivered cost efficiencies in the head office and across the manufacturing and distribution system. Our focus on execution is particularly critical during the current challenging market environment.”

CF said global nitrogen tradeflows are transitioning, with North American pricing affected the most. CF expects pricing to be challenged for the rest of 2017 and into 2018 as the marketplace continues to adapt to the significant capacity increases in recent years.

Second-quarter production levels were the highest in the history of the company. Gross ammonia production was 2.7 million st, 33 percent higher than in the second quarter 2016. CF said its system operated at a high utilization rate, including the new Port Neal ammonia plant, which ran at more than 115 percent of nameplate capacity in the second quarter.

During the quarter, the company successfully started up a 400,000 st/y diesel exhaust fluid unit (urea equivalent) at the Donaldsonville Nitrogen Complex. CF said the new plant brings additional flexibility to Donaldsonville’s product mix, and allows the company to pursue additional customer demand in the growing use of nitrogen for emission control applications.

For the first six months, CF was in the loss column at $20 million ($0.09 per share) on sales of $2.16 billion, down from the year-ago positive $73 million ($0.31 per share) and $2.14 billion, respectively.

Tiger-Sul Inc., Shelton, Conn., reports that an early morning fire July 29 at its Atmore, Ala., production facility, resulted in no injuries and no employees were present. Investigation into the cause and material damage of the fire are ongoing, but the damage is limited to the plant and not the warehouse.

Tiger-Sul said the facility is now open and the warehouse is in operation. It said it has significant inventory available to take care of Atmore orders. Tiger-Sul said since it is the largest producer of sulfur bentonite in the world, with other plants in Stockton, Calif., and Irricana, Alba., those plants can also be used to supply Atmore customers.

The company said it is committed to bringing production back up at Atmore as soon as possible but cannot confirm when at this time.

The Mosaic Company today reported second quarter 2017 net income of $97 million, compared to a net loss of $10 million in the second quarter of 2016. Earnings per diluted share were $0.28, which included a negative impact of $0.01 from notable items.

Mosaic’s net sales in the second quarter of 2017 were $1.8 billion, up from $1.7 billion last year, with higher sales volumes offsetting lower phosphates realized prices.

Operating earnings during the quarter were $95 million, up from $12 million a year ago, driven by higher phosphate and potash sales volumes, higher potash and international distribution segment margins, partially offset by lower phosphate margins.

“Mosaic generated improving results during the second quarter as global demand for potash and phosphates remained strong,” said Joc O’Rourke, president and CEO. “We continue to focus on managing our margins, costs and capital as markets gradually improve.”