Moranbah on track, Newcastle deferred, says IPL

Melbourne — Incitec Pivot Ltd. (IPL) last week reported progress at one ammonium nitrate project, while pulling another off the table altogether. On Sept. 27, IPL said its Moranbah project in Queensland’s Bowen Basin reached another milestone – commencing ammonia production. AN production began in July with imported ammonia. IPL says the project is now on track to produce 250,000 mt of AN in its 2012-13 financial year, with 330,000 mt expected in 2014-15. A day earlier, IPL announced that it had suspended its feasibility study on the development of an AN complex at Kooragang Island in Newcastle, New South Wales. IPL said a decision to proceed has been deferred for at least two years, reflecting the anticipated reduction in demand for AN and the high cost of construction in Australia. IPL said at this time the project has not met its strict financial hurdles. The $17 million cost of the feasibility study will be expensed in the 2012 financial year. Sources last week speculated that IPL might now turn its attention toward a proposed ammonia plant in the United States. Although India’s Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Corp. Ltd. recently axed plans to build an AN plant in Port Boynton, South Australia, sources say the decision was site-specific, and that the company will continue to look for other sites in the country.