LSB Industries Inc., Oklahoma City, Okla., announced on Dec. 15 that its chemical plant in Cherokee, Ala., was taken out of service in late November 2014 for unplanned maintenance. The outage was related to the replacement of a bearing in the facility’s ammonia plant, and a subsequent gasket leak and damage to insulation material that occurred upon start-up of the plant.

LSB anticipates that the plant will be out of production for approximately 30 days as a result of necessary repairs, returning to service by the end of the year. LSB said the downtime has and will continue to result in lost fixed cost absorption while the plant is not operating, as well as lost production, which is expected to total approximately 16,000 tons of ammonia representing saleable product of approximately 20,000 tons of UAN, 9,000 tons of AN Solution, and 1,700 tons of ammonia.

LSB said that during the downtime the Cherokee facility will be able to supply most of its customers’ demands for UAN, AN Solution, and ammonia from its inventory and, as a result, expects it will end 2014 with lower than previously anticipated inventory levels. The company plans to notify the market when the Cherokee facility is returned to service.

LSB has revised its outlook for fourth-quarter 2014 Chemical Business sales volumes as a result of the outage. On the Agriculture side, sales volumes for UAN fell from the previous outlook of 95,000-115,000 tons to 80,000-85,000 tons, while AN and anhydrous ammonia sales volumes remain at previous levels of 25,000-30,000 and 25,000-30,000 tons, respectively. In the Industrial, Mining and Other category, sales volumes remain at previous outlook levels of 145,000-150,000 tons of nitric acid, 30,000-35,000 tons of AN and AN Solution, and 6,000-8,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia.

Rentech Inc., Los Angeles, announced Dec. 10 after the markets closed, that D. Hunt Ramsbottom has resigned as CEO and president of Rentech and CEO of the general partner of Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP to pursue other opportunities. Ramsbottom has also resigned as a member of the board of directors for both companies.

Keith Forman, a member of Rentech Nitrogen’s board since October 2011, has been appointed as CEO and president of Rentech and CEO of the general partner of Rentech Nitrogen. He has also joined the board of Rentech. Rentech says Forman has an extensive background in master limited partnerships (MLPs). He has worked with MLPs in a variety of roles including as a banker, a senior executive and a director since the inception of MLPs in the 1980s. He previously served as chief financial officer of Crestwood Midstream Partners LP, a private investment partnership focused on making equity investments in the midstream energy market. He also served as senior vice president for El Paso Corp., a publicly traded provider of natural gas services, and chief financial officer of GulfTerra Energy Partners LP, a publicly traded MLP acquired by Enterprise Products Partners LP. He currently serves on the board of Capital Product Partners LP, a publicly traded shipping MLP.

“The board of directors thanks Hunt for his leadership over the past nine years. Hunt spearheaded many successful transitional phases of the company, including the initial public offering of Rentech Nitrogen, the wind-down of the company’s alternative energy business and entry into the wood fibre business,” said Halbert Washburn, chairman of the board of directors. “We’re confident that Keith can continue to successfully grow the company. With Keith’s rich experience in MLPs, we believe he is well qualified to lead the company as it works toward its goal of launching an MLP of the fibre business. As a member of Rentech Nitrogen’s board, Keith’s familiarity with Rentech’s fertilizer business will provide a smooth transition to his roles as CEO of Rentech and Rentech Nitrogen.”

“I’m proud of what we have built together here. After nine years, I feel it is the right time to pass the baton and let new leadership take the company into its next phase of growth. I remain very optimistic about Rentech’s future,” said  Ramsbottom.

The loss of Uralkali’s Solikamsk-2 potash mine in Berezniki is high, according to an update issued by Uralkali.

“Our analysis of the current situation and the experience of global potash mining industry allow us to conclude that the possibility of the negative scenario — complete mine flooding — remains high. We are prepared for this outcome but doing our best to minimize associated risks,” said Alexander Baryakh, general director of the Mining Institute of the Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Science.

“We now understand the factors that caused the accident. Fortunately, there are no risks for the Solikamsk residents. We are employing a wide range of instruments to analyze, forecast and prevent negative consequences."

 “We are taking all necessary measures to save Solikamsk-2 mine and minimize the consequences of the accident, fully complying with Rostekhnadzor requirements and recommendations of leading Russian and international specialists,” said Yevgeny Kotlyar. “Our team continues to analyze various scenarios and assess our possible future actions. The safety of our employees and other specialists involved remains our top priority.”

Uralkali said the sinkhole at the site has grown by 30 by 40 meters as of Nov. 18 to 50 by 80 meters Dec. 10. The average brine inflow during this period was over 700 cubic meters per hour.

Following the accident, Solikamsk-2 mine and plant employees (the total headcount is 1,266, including 771 employees of the mine) who are not involved in the accident liquidation are on a leave until Jan. 15, 2015 and are paid two-thirds of their average salary. The company is seeking to employ them at other Uralkali facilities.

Urea prices fell as IPL closed a urea tender Dec. 3. More than 2 million mt were offered by 23 companies. The lowest price came from Trammo at an eye-boggling $299.97/mt CFR into Krishnapatnam. A large group of other offers focused on the $302-$305/mt CFR range. The bulk of the offers appear to be from China.
 
Even as the tally sheets were being completed, sources say IPL awarded about 200,000 mt right away. The company is in the process of preparing its counter bid based on ports of discharge.
             
Sources expect IPL to take at least 1 million mt in this order.

Gavilon Fertilizer LLC, Savannah, today announced that microSource, the micronutrient division of Gavilon, will be expanding its capacity and R&D capabilities in Shakopee, Minn. As part of this expansion,
Gavilon Fertilizer’s manufacturing assets in Shakopee will operate as part of microSource.

“In just three years, microSource’s growth has extended beyond our existing NPK-distribution footprint,” said Gavilon Fertilizer President Brian Harlander. “To meet growing demand for specialty fertilizers, we added a dry product warehouse, indoor and outdoor liquid storage, automated packaging and a quality control/product development laboratory at our Shakopee production facility this year. Together with our sales support and distribution network, microSource is well-positioned to be one of the leading formulators of premium plant nutrient products in North
America.”

Ryan Burke, vice president, international of Gavilon Fertilizer, has been named president of microSource. Kipp Smallwood, director of sales and operations of microSource, will assume the new role of general manager and chief operating officer.

Gavilon said microSource has been providing high quality plant nutrients and additives, including NBPT nitrogen stabilizers, complete nutritional starters, and a full line of dry and liquid micronutrients, to the fertilizer industry since August 2011.

For more information about microSource, contact sales at 855.864.2767 or visit
www.gavilon.com/microsource.

Gavilon Fertilizer LLC is a subsidiary of The Gavilon Group LLC. Gavilon Fertilizer has business operations in the United States, Mexico, Peru and South Africa.

The Gavilon Group LLC connects producers and consumers of feed, food and fuel, linking agricultural supply with demand through its global supply chain network. The company provides origination, storage and handling, transportation and logistics, marketing and distribution, and risk management services to customers and suppliers across the globe. Headquartered in Omaha, Neb., Gavilon employs 2,000 people at nearly 300 facilities and offices worldwide.