All Posts from April 3, 2014

Agrium declares Force Majeure due to Carseland shutdown

Agrium Inc. alerted customers on April 2 that its Carseland, Alberta, manufacturing facility has experienced a failure of the high pressure boiler feedwater supply pumps, resulting in the shutdown of ammonia and urea operations at the site.

Agrium said the equipment failure constitutes an event of Force Majeure, and that it will not be able to fully perform its product supply obligations for urea, ammonia, and ESN “for approximately 8 weeks until the equipment can be repaired or replaced.” Agrium provided a lengthy list of supply contracts that will be impacted by the declaration.

Agrium gave no other details on the extent of the damage, saying only that the equipment failure occurred due to circumstances beyond its “reasonable control.” Agrium earlier on April 2 had reported that the Carseland nitrogen facility had experienced a failure in the auxiliary boiler on March 22, resulting in an unplanned shutdown that would lower product availability by approximately 100,000 mt for urea and 20,000 mt for ammonia during the second quarter. Agrium said then that repairs on the boiler were expected to be complete by the second half of May 2014.

Agrium in 2012 put Carseland production capacity at 680,000 mt/y for urea, with ammonia production rated at 535,000 mt/y gross and 135,000 mt/y net.

ICL warns of possible Rotem Amfert closure

Israel Chemicals Ltd. CEO Stefan Borgas has instructed the management of Rotem Amfert to prepare for the shutdown of the Rotem Amfert plant over the next five years. His instruction was given following a statement by Israel’s Health Minister Yael German that she was opposed to even a pilot plant for testing phosphate mining at the Sde Barir field near the town of Arad in southern Israel. The health minister said that after reading reports and comments by public health officials she concluded that even a pilot project would be wrong as it would give no assurances regarding full scale mining operations.

ICL has warned in the past that without the Sde Barir field the company would have to close down its phosphate and fertilizer operations in Israel for lack of rock supplies. Borgas also instructed Rotem Amfert’s management to cease taking on any new workers, purchase of equipment and a halt to renovations of buildings and equipment. The shutdown of Rotem Amfert would entail the firing of 1,200 workers.

Meanwhile the strike by Rotem Amfert workers over a planned reorganization plan and the firing of 127 workers by ICL is continuing contacts between the union and management resumed on Tuesday. However, the latest instruction by Borgas is likely to further complicate the labor situation at the subsidiary as well as at ICL.

Speaking earlier this week at a conference Borgas said ICL would invest 4,500 to $600 million in a new mine at Sde Barir if the government approved mining operations there.

SQM gives report on earthquake

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA (SQM) said April 2 that its preliminary evaluation of the effects on the company’s production facilities of the earthquake that occurred the night of April 1 in Northern Chile.

There were no accidents or injuries involving personnel at SQM’s facilities.

The earthquake was approximately 200 kilometers from SQM operations in Nueva Victoria, 300 kilometers from operations in Maria Elena, 500 kilometers from operations in the Salar de Atacama, 430 kilometers from operations in the Salar del Carmen, and 260 kilometers from operations in the port of Tocopilla.

Upon preliminary inspection, no structural damage was detected at the production facilities.

Nueva Victoria: Operations were suspended during the night of April 1 resulting from a loss of electricity. It was reestablished April 2, and SQM expected operations to resume later on April 2 after an operational check is completed on the main equipment.

Tocopilla: Operations were suspended the night of April 1 resulting from a loss of electricity, and following a tsunami alert issued by the Chilean authorities. SQM was expecting electricity to be reestablished April 2 with normal operations resuming April 3.

Maria Elena, Salar del Carmen, and Salar de Atacama: Production was not suspended, and we the facilities were operating normally.

There was no visible damage to the town of Maria Elena, the city of Tocopilla and various towns located near operations in the Salar de Atacama.