All Posts from February 17, 2015

Rentech eyes strategic alternatives – Alert

Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP said Feb. 17 that its board of directors has initiated a process to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives for the partnership, which may include a sale of the partnership, a merger with another party, a sale of some or all of the assets of the partnership, or another strategic transaction.

Rentech Nitrogen has retained Morgan Stanley as its financial advisor to assist with the strategic review process. The partnership stated that there can be no assurance that this strategic review process will result in a transaction. Rentech Nitrogen has not set a timetable for completion of the review process, and it does not intend to comment further regarding the review process unless a specific transaction is approved by its board the review process is concluded, or it is otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate or required by law.

Labor federation okays DSW strike – Alert

Israel’s powerful Histadrut Labor Federation has given the go ahead for Dead Sea Works workers to go on strike. The move was decided late Monday by Histadrut Chairman Avi Nissenkorn and was in response to the strike at Dead Sea Bromine Compounds. Histadrut said that the strike at DSW would be open ended. The strike at Dead Sea Compounds is now in its third week and is a protest against plans to fire 140 of its workers.

Workers at DSW are also facing possible layoffs as management has said it wants to reduce manpower at the company by 135.  A Beer Sheba Labor Court ordered the two sides back to the negotiating table and to continue talks.

Worker killed at Simplot site – Alert

A contractor working at the Simplot Soil Builders fertilizer operation in Hershey, Neb., was killed in an industrial accident about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 14. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office identified the victim as Russ Peterson, 59, Ogallala, Neb. Chief Deputy Roland Kramer said Peterson was among workers of an outside company doing maintenance on an elevator with a crane when a structure collapsed onto the roof of a building. There were no other injuries.

Simplot spokesman Ken Dey in Boise said Peterson was not a Simplot employee. "It appears to be a tragic accident, and we offer our condolences to the family," Dey told Green Markets.

Strike ends at CP Rail – Alert

Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) who went on strike just after midnight on Feb. 14 have agreed to return to work at Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway. Service at CP was set to resume on Feb. 17 after the Canadian government indicated it would act quickly to introduce back-to-work legislation to end the strike.

The walkout by 3,300 locomotive engineers, conductors, and other rail workers forced CP to curtail operations, prompting the government on Feb. 15 to quickly announce its decision to intervene. “For every day of work stoppage, our economy and trade relationships will be further undermined,” said Labour Minister Kellie Leitch. The legislation was tabled on Feb. 16 after TCRC announced an end to the strike.

TCRC and CP will now return to the negotiating table with the help of federal arbitrators. Leitch acknowledged that the two sides were still “not close to a deal” after months of negotiations, with workload fatigue and the lack of reliable schedules still at issue. “I do believe there are still numerous issues on the table and I’m confident that the mediation and arbitration process will get them to the place where they need to be,” Leitch said.

Unifor, another union that represents approximately 1,800 workers at CP who conduct safety inspections and perform maintenance and repairs on railcars and locomotives, had also planned to go on strike at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 15. The strike was averted, however, after a tentative agreement was reached between Unifor and CP just minutes before the strike deadline.

Tampa ammonia price down – Alert

The Tampa ammonia price for March has been concluded at $475/mt CFR, down $20/mt from the price for February.

Uralkali reports another sinkhole – Alert

Uralkali said that on Feb. 17 it discovered a sinkhole with a diameter of 5 meters near the minefield of the flooded Bereznik-1 mine. The area had been fenced off and had restricted access since 2013. This is a separate incident from the recent sinkhole near the Solikamsk-2 mine which is having problems with flooding.

Uralkali said continued comprehensive monitoring of the area has been in place since 2006. Based on analysis of the monitoring data, it said engineering firm, Galurgiya, predicted in 2013 that soil subsidence might occur in this area in 2015. As a result, Galurgiya and the Mining Institute of the Urals Branch of the Russian Academy of Science determined the boundaries of this hazardous zone and it was later confirmed by Rostechnadzor.

Uralkali said the soil subsidence will not impact the current activity of the industrial facilities or social infrastructure in Berezniki.

Uralkali’s assets consist of five mines and seven ore-treatment mills situated in the towns of Berezniki and Solikamsk (Perm Region, Russia).