Ohio Valley Resources LLC, Fairfield, Ill., announced Sept. 25 that is has received its air permit from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for a major nitrogen plant to be located in Spencer County, Ind. OVR President and CEO Doug Wilson thanked the IDEM, the State of Indiana, and in particular the people of Spencer County for their continued support of OVR’s efforts to develop a commercial scale fertilizer facility.
Wilson also noted that in light of the recent rezoning of the proposed site for the facility and the granting of the air permit, only a few additional regulatory matters remain to be completed before OVR will be in a position to break ground. He told Green Markets that the plant could break ground as early as this year.
"It has been important to me from the beginning to make sure that this project was done right from the bottom up,” said Wilson. “The granting of the air permit today is just one more sign that our development strategy and our confidence in the State of Indiana are well founded. The economics of the fertilizer business remains healthy and we remain committed to developing one of the most efficient fertilizer facilities in the United States. We looking forward to serving the Tri-States’ agricultural and industrial communities in the near future."
Wilson said that earlier estimates that the project would cost $952 million are now likely the floor price. In addition, he said the company is still tweaking the approximate product mix for the plant but said that it would include both anhydrous ammonia and UAN. Initial projections for the 150-acre site, just north of Rockport, were for a 2,240 st/d ammonia and a 3,000 st/d UAN plant (GM March 4, p. 1, May 20, p. 10). Diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) has also been mentioned as a possibility. OVR selected the site based on its close proximity to two interstate natural gas pipelines (ANR and Midwest) as well as its close proximity to low-cost shale gas in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. OVR also credited Indiana for providing incentives for the project.
While forthcoming announcements are expected regarding financing as the project advances, Wilson said he expects to remain as a long-term participant in the project.
OVR is still on tap to use KBR technology and has involved the company in front-end engineering and to develop a lump-sum, turn-key engineer, procure and construct price for the project.
Some 30 or more nitrogen plants have been floated for North America in the past few years, with analysts saying that number will be severely whittled down over time. Among those projects, OVR, lead by entrepreneur Wilson, has been an underdog, with most analysts expecting touting other projects to be built by large, established industry veterans such as CF Industries Holdings Inc. and Koch Nitrogen Co. At the same time, other industry giants such as Yara International ASA and Agrium Inc. have pulled back on building their own North American projects, further casting doubt on whether a significant wave of new nitrogen plants will actually be built. CF Chairman and CEO Stephen Wilson expects the U.S. to still be a large importer of nitrogen in 2017 after the current wave is built (GM Sept. 23, p. 1).
In the meantime, there is a competing project by Pakistan-based Fatima Group for Posey County, Ind. Governor Michael Pence earlier this year withdrew state support from the project citing Fatima’s less than cooperative behavior with the U.S. relating to terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan. However, Pence (GM June 24, p1), ultimately did not stand in the way of Posey County proceeding with the issuance of a $1.3 billion disaster bond to aid Fatima’s $1.8-$2 billion Midwest Fertilizer Corp. project.