All Posts from June 11, 2013

Illinois NH3 release kills fish, results in citations

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) is investigating the June 4 release of 8,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia from a storage tank at Conserv FS in Winnebago County in northern Illinois. The leak reportedly went on for 12 hours after a tanker truck owned by Schoff Farm Service (SFS) Inc. hit a valve on an ammonia loading rack at the Conserv FS facility near Winnebago, Ill.

Authorities said emergency responders issued an advisory to local residents to shelter in place, while firefighters used about 100,000 gallons of water to control the spread of the ammonia cloud. A specialized hazardous materials response team in Level A protective suits worked into the early morning on June 5 to try to stop the leak.

“No evacuations were necessary,” Win-Bur-Sew Fire District Chief Don Crawford told Green Markets. “The people downwind from the scene were advised to stay inside and keep their doors and windows closed.”

IEPA has issued citations against Conserv FS and SFS for several violations of the Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations and the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, and has also asked the Illinois Attorney General’s Office to seek an injunction to require both companies to immediately clean up the area affected by the leak.

Crawford reported that there wasn’t much dispersal of the vapor cloud beyond the farm service plant, but ammonia-contaminated water did flow into a nearby creek and caused a fish kill in a private pond downstream from the plant. Local reports said Conserv built makeshift dams on June 5 to try to contain any remaining water on the site, and also installed an aerator in the pond to help dissipate ammonia.

TCP Urea Tender Fails

The decision by TCP to award its June 5 urea tender to Transammonia instead of Toepfer, the lowest offering company, led to a firestorm of protests and recriminations. And now time has run out for an award to stick.

Toepfer, which offered 50,000 mt at $335/mt CFR, was passed over by TCP because, according to the buying house, Toepfer presented a non-responsive offer. Instead, the TCP award committee decided to give the contract to Transammonia for 50,000 mt at $337.17/mt CFR. Toepfer immediately challenged the decision. At the same time politicians and members of the urea-producing community in Pakistan objected to the decision.

By the close of business on Friday, June 7, TCP had rescinded the Transammonia order and was ready to give the award to Toepfer. The move came after the commerce ministry sent an official letter to TCP reminding them that Pakistan law required them to take the lowest offer. A letter was sent to Pacific Exim, the Toepfer agent in Pakistan, that its client won the award.

Local media say the letter was received about 10:30 pm Friday. By the time Pacific Exim received the letter, however, the validity of the offer expired. Local media report that TCP asked Pacific Exim to extend the validity to Monday. The buying house said the delay would be necessary because the Arab Gulf countries were closed on Friday and the European companies would be closed through Sunday.

Pacific Exim and Toepfer said an extension was not possible at the offered price, however. Pacific Exim told local media that once TCP announced it was giving the award to Transammonia, Toepfer released the tons it had on reserve for the tender.

The melodrama will mean that TCP will have to call another tender for the remaining 50,000 mt the country needs for the Kharif season. In the meantime, urea producers renewed their position that if the government were to ensure sufficient natural gas supplies, they could make up the urea shortfall and charge the government less than the imports.

Union threatens sanctions against ICL

The Dead Sea Works union is threatening to impose sanctions to back up a demand that management of Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL) grant workers better terms for revenue sharing. A final decision by the union is expected June 12 on whether and which sanctions to impose to back up their demands.

On June 10, ICL management announced that it would distribute $45 million in profits to the company’s 11,300 workers in Israel and abroad for 2012. The company also laid out guidelines for profit sharing in the coming years.

The Dead Sea Works union, the largest in ICL, charges that the terms of future distribution of profits would kick in only if the company has more than $4 billion in profits from 2012-2015. The union is demanding improved terms for profit sharing.

Richardson to expand Western Canada crop input business

Richardson International Ltd. announced on June 10 that it plans to invest C$40 million to further enhance its Richardson Pioneer network of grain handling and crop input centers across Western Canada. The investment includes increased grain storage, high-speed fertilizer blenders, a fertilizer distribution center, and the creation of four new crop input locations.

The Winnipeg-based company reported that four former Viterra Inc. grain elevators will become full-service crop input centers with the addition of high speed blenders, fertilizer storage facilities, and 6,000-square-foot chemical and seed warehouses. The four elevators are located at Lacombe, Alberta, Kindersley, Sask., and Stony Mountain and Letellier, Manitoba.

Richardson is also building a 35,000 mt fertilizer distribution center at Carlton Crossing in Saskatoon, Sask., and will add six high-speed fertilizer blenders at its Richardson Pioneer locations in Oyen and Magrath, Alberta; Kamsack, Saskatoon, and Shellbrook, Sask.; and Shoal Lake, Manitoba.

On the grain handling side, Richardson plans this year to add 14,000 mt of storage capacity to each of its elevators in Carseland, Alberta, Crooked River, Sask., and Shoal Lake. The company said the additional storage will increase capacity by 54-68 percent, depending on the location.

This is the latest in a series of significant investments Richardson has made to expand its Canadian operations. In early May (GM May 6, p. 1) the privately-held company closed on the purchase of some $800 million of former Viterra assets from Glencore International plc, the Swiss trading and mining company that finalized its acquisition of Viterra earlier this year. These include 19 grain elevators, 13 crop input centers, an export terminal in Thunder Bay, Ont., and Viterra’s oat and wheat milling business.

In April, Richardson announced it is investing $120 million to expand its grain terminal in Vancouver. The company is also currently increasing capacity by 25 percent at its canola processing facility in Yorkton, Sask., and recently announced plans to expand its canola processing facility in Lethbridge, Alberta, as well. The company has completed 18 storage capacity expansions at its Richardson Pioneer grain facilities since 2007.

“We are always looking for opportunities to expand and diversify our business,” said Curt Vossen, president and CEO of Richardson International. “We are proud to be celebrating a century of growth with the 100th anniversary of Richardson Pioneer in 2013 and we will continue to grow into the future to meet the needs of our customers at home and around the world.”