Sources report that Indonesia’s Pusri settled its auction of 30,000 mt of granular urea with Indevco at $345/mt FOB. An optional sale of 30,000 mt was rejected. The price reflects a $20 bump in the selling price from Indonesia at a time when the rest of the urea market is softening.

One source speculated this purchase will be for a regional buyer. Many of the end users of Indonesian urea are usually often in the local area. They are also often willing to pay a few dollars more for the product because of its quality and ease of shipping.

The auction came just as MMTC/India announced a tender to close March 12. Area observers say the price paid in this auction is too high for the tonnage to be part of any serious offer to MMTC.

The wait is over. India’s MMTC called a urea tender to close March 12. The urea market has been in the doldrums waiting for the Indians to re-enter the market. Sources expect MMTC to buy 500-700,000 mt. The final quantity will be based on price rather than need, said one trader.

More information in the March 10 issue of Green Markets.

Israel Chemicals Ltd. workers held a one day warning strike on Sunday to protest against planned layoffs by management at the country’s largest chemical maker. The workers prevented thousands of contract workers from entering the premises of Dead Sea Works, the company’s largest subsidiary.

The workers also decided yesterday to join forces and form one united committee to represent them in negotiations with management and threatened to take additional moves to protest management plans.

The union said that it has tried peaceful means and asked for a meeting with management on the proposed recovery plan to discuss details but have been rebuffed. Therefore the union said it was left with no choice but to take industrial action that will force ICL management to sit with the united committee to discuss details of the plan.

Last month ICL announced a sharp drop in fourth quarter and full year net profits. For the fourth quarter net profits totaled $119 million versus $208 million in the corresponding quarter in 2012. Revenues in the fourth quarter actually rose to $1.42 billion from $1.3 billion a year earlier due largest to increased volumes to China and India. For the full year net profits totaled $819 million versus$1.3 billion on revenues of $6.27 billion in 2013 versus $6.47 in the previous year.

ICL has said that it is implementing a restructuring plan designed to reduce costs by several hundred million dollars by 2016. This includes the laying off of workers at its Israeli-based phosphate division and possibly other units. ICL is also contemplating other measures. ICL also said that it is proceeding with plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Israel Chemicals Ltd. management decided today on a lock out of all production plants in Israel if company workers do not end their sanctions. The decision by the company’s board of directors followed sanctions initiated by the union on Sunday. Yesterday workers held a one day warning strike to protest against planned layoffs by management.

The workers prevented thousands of contract workers from entering the premises of the company’s Dead Sea Works subsidiary at Sdom. The Sdom plant is ICL’s largest subsidiary. Union workers at the company’s various subsidiaries decided Sunday to join forces and form one united committee to represent them in negotiations with management. They continued sanctions today and have threatened to intensify their actions in the coming days threatening to go as far as a general strike that would shut down all ICL operations.

Management also decided this afternoon that in light of the decision by the united committee not to negotiate that it would take unilateral action and begin implementation of a restructuring plan which includes the layoffs of 500 to 600 workers. Management said that it preferred to negotiate with the workers over the restructuring plan but would proceed if cooperation was not forthcoming. ICL reportedly plans to spread the layoffs over a period of three years. The management stressed in its statement that workers would not be allowed to enter any of the plants in the event of a lock out and salaries would not be paid.

The union charges that the real intention of management is to fire as many as one thousand workers or approximately 20 percent of its Israeli work force.

Last month the company announced a sharp drop in fourth-quarter and full-year net profit. For the fourth quarter, net profits totaled $119 million versus $208 million for the corresponding quarter in 2012. For the full year net profits totaled $819 million versus $1.3 billion in 2012.

As a result of the decline in net profits management said it would implement a restructuring plan. Initial layoffs involving 127 workers were announced earlier this year at the Rotem Amfert subsidiary, which handles the company’s phosphate and fertilizer production.

The Indonesian urea auction for up to 60,000 mt – 30,000 mt firm; 30,000 mt optional — ended up with two companies bidding and a reluctant seller. Reports from Indonesia say Indevco bid at $345/mt FOB and Swiss Singapore bid at $300/mt FOB. The last public business out of Indonesia – about a month ago – showed prices in the $320mt FOB. The Indevco bid shows a rise in price and the Swiss Singapore bid shows an equally dramatic softening influence. The wide spread in pricing is indicative of the way urea traders talked in the run up to the announcement MMTC/India would close a urea tender March 12. The uncertainty in pricing is not limited to buyers.

Pusri, the auction operator, is unsure if it wants to accept the Indevco bid. Sources say a decision may be made on Monday, March 10, to accept or scrap the auction.

Rentech Inc. on March 5 announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Sunshine Kaidi New Energy Group Co. Ltd. (Kaidi) to sell its alternative energy technologies and decommissioned Product Demonstration Unit (PDU). The transaction calls for an initial cash payment to Rentech of $15.3 million, and the possibility of a success payment of up to $16.2 million to the company upon the successful construction and operation by Kaidi, at its cost, of a demonstration-scale plant in China utilizing the technologies and PDU equipment acquired from Rentech. In addition, Rentech and Kaidi will share equally in any proceeds from the future sale of the PDU site in Commerce City, Colo., net of transaction fees and carrying costs of the property incurred by Rentech after the closing of the sale of the technologies and PDU.

The equipment purchased by Kaidi will be relocated to Wuhan, China where Kaidi is in the process of expanding its biomass-to-liquids demonstration facility to employ some or all of Rentech’s alternative energy technologies. Upon Kaidi’s completion of this demonstration facility, Rentech will be eligible to receive up to $16.2 million in success payments based on the performance of the technologies.

“The sale of these technologies and the decommissioned PDU is the final step in exiting our alternative energy technology-related operations. We continue to focus on driving near-term and long-term growth in our wood fibre processing and fertilizer businesses,” said D. Hunt Ramsbottom, President and CEO of Rentech. “We are pleased Kaidi has agreed to purchase these assets with plans to demonstrate and commercialize them in alternative energy projects abroad, as the energy landscape and lack of government support no longer make their deployment economic in the U.S. in the foreseeable future. We are grateful to all of our employees who helped develop such innovative and effective technologies.”

In 2013, Rentech ceased operations at the PDU and mothballed the facility. Staffing in the company’s alternative energy business was also significantly reduced and all related research and development activities were eliminated. Upon closing of the sale of the technologies and the decommissioned PDU, Kaidi will assume substantially all costs associated with Rentech’s alternative energy technology business. Rentech anticipates total costs associated with the energy technology business, including costs to secure the sale agreement and close the transaction, site-related carrying costs, and transitional costs, to be approximately $5 million in 2014, which will be recorded as selling, general and administrative expenses. Rentech expects to sell the PDU site by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

The sale of the technologies is expected to close in mid-2014. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals in the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

Activist Rentech shareholders lead by Engaged Capital LLC and Lone Star Value Management LLC have criticized Rentech’s energy investments.

In other news, Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP, has announced that the ammonium sulfate debottlenecking project at its Pasadena, Texas, facility is now complete. The plant now produces AS at an average instantaneous rate of 2,100 tons per day, the targeted rate for the project. The increased rate represents a 20 percent increase from the plant’s previous nameplate production capacity. In addition, Rentech says on-stream rates and plant reliability have improved, and AS quality is the highest since the facility began AS production in 2011. “We are extremely pleased with the improved operating performance of the Pasadena Facility since the completion of the debottlenecking project. Importantly, we expect work completed during the debottle

Russian phosphate maker PhosAgro said today it is canceling its Capital Markets Days, originally planned for March 17-18, until the second half, tentatively in September.

PhosAgro apologized to investors saying the postponement would make it possible to meet with investors when the market is less driven by external factors, and the participants will be able to focus on discussion of PhosAgro’s new strategy for growth.

The current Russia-Ukraine conflict is taking center stage, leaving less room for Russian companies to tout their stocks.

Speculation is also rising that any U.S. and Western sanctions against Russia could conceivably impact the potash markets and Russian producer Uralkali. Likewise, sanctions could impact Russian nitrogen and phosphate exports.

While sources say Ukrainian nitrogen production and shipments are ongoing, the industry is closely watching the situation.