Pryor NH3 plant back online, urea not

LSB Industries Inc. said Oct. 19 that its Pryor, Okla., ammonia plant resumed production Oct. 8. The company had announced Oct. 5 (GM Oct. 7, p. 15) that the plant was down as a scheduled turnaround had been extended to perform additional work on both the ammonia and urea plants in order to increase their reliability going forward. It earlier said the plant was expected back up by Oct. 10.

LSB expects Pryor’s urea plant to return to service by Nov. 1, which will enable the facility to resume production of UAN. On Oct. 5, LSB had expected the urea plant to be back up by Oct. 15, however, it said the delay was a result of the inspection process by the welding contractor’s Authorized Inspector (AI), which is responsible for ensuring that work on pressure vessels meets federal and state codes. In addition to addressing the increased scope of work dictated by the AI related to corrosion in the urea plant’s pressure vessel and liner, LSB has elected to implement design changes to the vessel’s liner in order to minimize future corrosion and related downtime.

LSB expects the additional downtime related to this work on Pryor’s urea plant to have little to no impact on LSB’s fourth quarter 2016 EBITDA above what was disclosed Oct. 5.

 

One dead from NH3 leak on Magellan pipeline

An Oct. 17 anhydrous ammonia leak on the Magellan ammonia pipeline about eight miles north of Tekamah, Neb., has claimed the life of one local farmer and resulted in the evacuation of approximately 40 residents and the closure of area roads and highways.

Phillip W. Hennig, 59, of Tekamah was reportedly overcome by ammonia fumes while investigating the leak late on Monday. According to news outlets, the leak was first reported at 9:20 p.m. by local residents who smelled ammonia. Burt County emergency responders were on the scene at 9:40 p.m. and evacuated approximately 40 people in 23 homes from a two-mile radius around the site. Area roads were also shut down, including U.S. 75 between Tekamah and Decatur, Neb., which was expected to remain closed until Oct. 19.

Hennig’s body was recovered near the leak site at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday by the Nebraska State Patrol’s Hazmat team, working with Tekamah Fire and Rescue. Hennig reportedly lived about a quarter-mile from the site, and a 911 caller shortly after 10 p.m. said a man was visible walking near the area of the leak. No other injuries were reported.

The cause of the leak is still undetermined. A spokesman for Magellan Midstream Partners of Tulsa, Okla., said the section of the eight-inch pipeline where the leak occurred has been shut off and the remaining ammonia allowed to slowly leak out before repair work begins. Local reports said 25 Magellan employees and 21 contractors were at the scene, in addition to state and federal regulators, including investigators with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Magellan issued two media advisories on Oct. 18. The first at 7:45 a.m. confirmed the leak and the fatality, and stated that federal and state agencies had been notified and that company representatives, emergency responders, and environmental crews were on site. The second advisory at 4:20 p.m. said efforts were still underway to “isolate and secure” the section of pipe where the leak occurred, and that air quality readings were improving but were not yet safe to allow residents to return to their homes.

“We express our deepest sympathies over the tragic death of the local resident last night,” said Magellan CEO Mike Mears.

Local reports said the displaced residents are staying at the Decatur Community Center or with relatives and friends. Magellan said it is “currently working with affected residents to cover all relevant expenses associated with the evacuation with the intent of returning our neighbors safely to their homes as soon as possible.”

Magellan’s ammonia pipeline stretches 1,100 miles from Borger, Texas, to Mankato, Minn., with multiple terminals located in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa. “Our immediate focus is to eliminate ammonia emissions, safely secure the site, and reopen the local roads,” the company said on Oct. 18. “Operations of our ammonia pipeline will remain suspended until all repairs can be safely made. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.”

New ammonia plant complete

Australia’s Incitec Pivot Ltd. has announced the completion of performance testing and handover of the Waggaman, La., anhydrous ammonia plant. IPL will take over management and operation of the plant Oct. 19. The company said the project remains within the original budget of U.S. $850 million.

IPL said the plant is expected to operate at an average of around 80 percent of capacity over
the coming 12 months as it ramps up to full annual production rates. Nameplate capacity is
of 800,000 metric mt/y. It is located at the existing Cornerstone Chemical Co. complex.

Ammonia from the facility will go to IPL’s Dyno Nobel subsidiary, Cornerstone and Trammo Inc.

Disclaimer of Warranty
All information has been obtained by Green Markets from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Green Markets or others, Green Markets does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information.

For additional details visit our Terms of Use.