Asheville, N.C.-On March 29 the Asheville police bomb squad had to move dynamite and explosive grade-ammonium nitrate from a container in which it had been stored for years into a vacant field on a Madison County farm, where it was intentionally exploded. Even so, reported Bomb Squad Commander Lt. Wally Welch, the explosion resulted in a surprising force that broke windows and tore siding off the porch of the nearby farm house. “I can’t say for sure how long it had been there,” Welch told Green Markets. “But over time the dynamite on top of the ammonium nitrate had leached and turned it into a big ugly mass of explosives.” He said he’d been doing this type of work for 10 years and this one was by far his biggest explosion. Welch and his fellow officer started with some 148 sticks of dynamite and several pounds of AN stored in a large bucket in a barn. The cache was divided into two holes. One was detonated with cast booster and the other with C4 and detonating chord. The result was a crater about eight feet deep and about 30 feet wide. “I didn’t realize the extent of the nitro leaching into the ammonium nitrate. But clearly it did, and I got a much bigger bang than I expected. In fact, it’s probably the largest hole I’ve ever made.” Welch said the first choice would have been to burn the material, but a steady rain eliminated that choice. He and his associate were called to the farm after the owner, whose father had spent 46 years blasting rock for the state, discovered the explosives and alerted the Madison County sheriff.
U.S. Gulf/Tampa: Nothing new was reported in the Tampa or NOLA markets. Mosaic told analysts last week that it expects there to be continued pressure on Tampa ammonia in the near-term, citing increased production that has come up due to prices at $400/mt and above.
Railcars of ammonia reportedly destined for CF derailed in Tampa on March 31. The ammonia was being moved from CF’s storage facility to its processing plant at Plant City at the time of the mishap. One person was injured when he jumped from the runaway cars, but he was not in serious condition. None of the product was spilled, and CSX Transportation was working to put the cars back on the tracks late in the week.
Eastern Cornbelt: Although rain over the previous weekend put a stop to limited field activities in the region, a stretch of dry, warm days last week allowed growers back in the field in many locations.
Growers in northern Illinois took advantage of last week’s warm spell to get some preplant fertilizer down. Sources talked of brisk demand for ammonia, phosphates, and potash, though one source said most of the activity was confined to areas north of Interstate 80. Sources also reported field activities in northern Ohio at midweek, with some talking of an earlier-than-normal start to corn planting if weather conditions remain favorable.
Spot ammonia pricing had reportedly ticked up to the $430-$440/st FOB range out of regional terminals, with both numbers reported out of Illinois and Indiana shipping points, depending on location.
Western Cornbelt: Warmer weather and dry conditions allowed growers to get in the field in many areas of the region last week. Several sources on April 1 said most of Iowa was starting to roll, with reports of long lines at ammonia truck terminals as the week advanced.
Ammonia pricing was quoted in the $390-$415/st FOB range in the region last week, depending on location. One source talked of lower numbers out of Nebraska terminals, but actual sales at the $365/st FOB level were not confirmed. Most of the ammonia being pulled was prepay tons, observed one source, so sales to test the cash market were relatively few.
Northern Plains: Fertilizer movement remained on the backburner in much of the region last week. “Even though it’s dry, things are not rolling out the door,” said one Minnesota source. North Dakota sources said preplant ammonia movement could be underway in parts of the state by early April, but most areas are looking at April 15 or later due to wet ground. “There is still snow – more in some places – and we may get more moisture tonight, so that will also make a difference come next week,” said one North Dakota source at midweek.
North Dakota sources continued to quote delivered ammonia in a broad range at $450-$485/st, depending on supplier and location. Out of terminals in Minnesota, the ammonia market was tagged at $405-$415/st FOB.
Great Lakes: Beautiful weather sparked a flurry of fieldwork in the Great Lakes region in late March as growers planted sugar beets, oats, and alfalfa. Some were reportedly even dusting off their corn planters last week, and preplant ammonia was going down on corn ground in Wisconsin, along with phosphates, potash, and lime.
Several Wisconsin sources said the anhydrous ammonia market had firmed to a solid $440/st FOB out of upper Mississippi River terminals.
Black Sea: Industry sources keep looking to the Tampa price to figure out what is happening in Yuzhnyy. Backing off freight and other costs, sources say the Yuzhnyy equivalent price from Tampa is in the $350s/mt FOB.
Despite all the arguments from buyers, producers continue to make offers in the low $380s/mt FOB.
Neither price out of Yuzhnyy works for the hottest market – Asia.
How the market in the Black Sea moves, said one Asian source, depends on the application season in the U.S. He noted reports of field applications starting is good news for the global market. The big issue will be sustaining the growth.
No matter how much producers claim the market should be edging close to $400/mt FOB, sources say the price remains in the $350s/mt FOB.
Middle East: Reports of producers swapping tons were dismissed by industry watchers as “routine business.” One trader explained that the producers regularly swap with each other as material and vessels match up with contractual shipments.
Arab producers continue to argue the price should be $400/mt FOB, but is prevented from reaching that level because of Iran.
As March closed, sources say Iran was blameless for the failure to reach the $400 level.
Demand remains strong in India, which is driving a lot of the Arab producers’ sales, and Iranian tons are pretty well sold out for a while.
Unless demand picks up for Middle East tons and producers play hard ball on the price, some in the industry see the price holding steady for a while.
One glimmer of hope for the producers to get the price moving are reports that earlier tons pegged at $370/mt FOB are pretty well nowhere to be found this month. This removes the soft bottom of the market, said one observer. But while the bottom level moved up, the upper end of the price range remained steady.
Sources now peg the market at $380-$390/mt FOB.
Asia: Sources report the Mitsui KPA facility is now back up and running. The plant was slated to have been back online by the third week of March, but a few minor “hiccups” delayed the opening. The plant was closed for routine maintenance in early March.
Area sources now speculate that Mitsubishi will be taking its KPI plant down for a routine turnaround. One observer noted that in the past, whenever one plant went down for maintenance work, the other usually followed within a week or so.
With Asia sitting as the strongest regional ammonia market, none of the producers who feed material to industrial and agricultural buyers is anxious to shut down.
UREA
U.S. Gulf: While a few players last week were reported to have concluded business within the $295-$300/st FOB range, most sellers were still holding out for $305/st FOB or more. They said there was no need to panic and cut prices, as the industry is on the brink of the season. Indeed, most players were very optimistic, saying that good weather has been touching much of the nation, and they were predicting that farmer activity would be at a good pace the week after Easter.
Eastern Cornbelt: The granular urea market remained at $350-$360/st FOB, with the low out of river locations in Illinois and the higher numbers reported out of spot Ohio locations.
Western Cornbelt: Granular urea was pegged at $345-$350/st FOB in the region. Some suppliers continued to reference urea as high as $360/st FOB to the dealer, but any sales taking place were at the lower numbers. Sources quoted the dealer market out of Enid and Inola, Okla., in the $330-$335/st FOB range last week.
Northern Plains: The granular urea market was quoted at $345-$350/st FOB the Twin Cities, down slightly from last report. Delivered urea remained at $375-$385/st in North Dakota, with the low end of that range also reflecting dealer reference pricing FOB warehouse locations in the state. One source said there is not a lot of urea in the Twin Cities market, and suppliers “don’t want to run the shed dry” before the first barges arrive on April 12-15.
Great Lakes: The granular urea market was quoted in a broad range at $350-$380/st FOB regional terminals to the dealer. The low end of the range was reported by southern Wisconsin sources out of river terminals. One Wisconsin source quoted delivered urea at the $360/st level to his location in late March.
Northeast: A massive storm broke rainfall records and pummeled the Northeast region with high winds on March 29-30, causing widespread flooding. A Delaware source said his location had received 4 inches of rain in less than a week, putting a stop to some limited field activities that took place in late March, including some nitrogen and lime movement. “Farmers are getting discouraged,” he said.
Granular urea was tagged at $350-$360/st FOB in the region, down slightly from last report. One source put the Philadelphia market at the $360/st FOB level to the dealer.
India: The IPL tender closed with about 1.8 million mt in firm offers and another 700,000 mt in options.
At first blush, the tonnage offered below the high-water mark set by India of $310/mt CFR could be enough to get the country well started in the next application season. Even better for India, the tons came in at $305/mt CFR and below.
Sources report the freight costs from the UAE and Kuwait is pegged at $20/mt. That would put the 140,000 mt offered by PIC and Fertil at $305/mt CFR. Add in the 600,000 mt from Rahma at $302/mt CFR and the 100,000 mt from Transammonia at $304.47/mt CFR, and IPL could have 840,000 mt delivered by June 1.
If IPL further accepts the sellers’ options, an additional 250,000 mt could be shipped for a total of just more than 1 million mt, all within the targeted price.
Sources are not sure about the Rahma offer, but say it does offer an interesting twist in the tender.
The tally of the tender follows at the bottom of the page.
Sabic, KeyTrade, and Qafco sent regrets.
The absence of Sabic is no surprise. Sources say the Sabic order books are full thanks to the government aid package between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, as well as other longterm contracts.
Industry watchers suspect the Transammonia offer will
come out of their sales contract from Oman.
Sources expect IPL to take the weekend to look over the offers and start talking to companies about lower prices Monday morning. Sources say the talks will have to move quickly, because India needs the product.
One trader noted that even with rapid talks, IPL should be able to get lower prices once the dust settles.
Pakistan: TCP awarded 50,000 mt to Mekatrade at $311.39/mt CFR from its tender of last month. Rather than talk to the next lowest offering company – Multicommerce – to see if it would lower its offer from $311.49/mt CFR to match the Mekatrade price, the state buyer immediately called another tender to close April 10 for the remaining 75,000 mt it needs.
One source noted that had TCP talked to Multicommerce, it probably could have had it match the lower price and fulfilled its needs in one shot.
The results of the Indian tender, however, could lead to an even lower price in the April 10 tender.
Another 300,000 mt is being imported through TCP under an aid package between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
Offering Company
Origin
Firm Qty. (‘000 mt)
Option Qty. (‘000 mt)
US$/mt FOB
US$/mt CFR
Discharge Port
Firm Shipment Time
Option Shipment Time
Fertil
UAE
50
20-25
285.00
April-May
PIC
Kuwait
90
30
285.00
April-May
Uzagro
Uzbekistan
315.00
Rahma Ltd
Ukraine
600
302.00
Any port
Transammonia
Open
100
100-200
304.47
Kandla-Mundra
Continental
Open
50
25-30
308.50
Kandla
April-May
310.00
Pipavav
311.50
Tuticorin
312.75
Vizag
Helm
Iran
100
312.00
Mundra-Kandla
Iran-Open
50
312.00
Mundra- Kandla
Mutual option
200
312.00
Mundra-Kandla
Ameropa
Open
50-60
314.21
Mundra-Kandla
April-May
50-60
309.00
Vizag-Pipavav
May-Jul
Gavilon
Open
55-110
308.00
Mundra-Kandla
25-55
312.00
K’Patnam
Dreymore
Open
50
50
309.75
Mundra
310.75
Kandla
Quantum
Open
40-50
329.00
K’Patnam
Chemoinvest
50
325.00
Kandla
Balderton
CIS
45-50
309.00
Mundra
312.00
Kandla
RJ Health
CIS
50
315.00
Any port
Blue Debbaj
Open
25
311.50
Kandla-Mundra-New Mangalore
25
312.50
50
313.50
Swiss Singapore
Open
55
311.97
Kandla-Mundra
50-55
311.97
Kandla-Mundra
322.40
Vizag
Dama Emirates
Ukraine
250
314.00
Any Port
Black Sea: The results of the Indian IPL tender were not good news for producers. Until the numbers came out, producers had been holding onto $270/mt FOB as the floor.
Once freight and costs are backed off the CIS offers, sources say the netback is in the mid- to upper-$250s/mt FOB. Reports circulated last week that a number of traders were shorting the Yuzhnyy market in anticipation of the Indian tender.
Shortly after the tender was announced, some in Asia said the Yuzhnyy price would have to come off significantly to meet the pricing expectations of the Indians. Even with the drop from the $270s/mt FOB before the tender to the new estimated range of $255-$260/mt FOB, the decline was not enough.
Middle East: Producers spent March hoping for the price to stabilize. Instead, it moved from just above $300/mt FOB for prills and $315/mt FOB for granular to the current $275-$285/mt FOB for both.
Sources said the PIC and Fertil offers were not unexpected.
India set a target price of no more than $310/mt CFR, with an unofficial target of $305/mt FOB as the global urea price started to fall late last month.
In order to secure the business from India, the producers had to take into account shipping costs of $20-$22/mt and then offer accordingly.
The $285/mt FOB offers put the Arab Gulf material just above the soft $305/mt CFR goal, but below the official $310/mt CFR mark.
Sources say if Transammonia gets awarded tons, it will most likely supply tons from Oman.
Trammo has a long-term contract to market the Omani urea. About half of the output is booked under contracts, but the rest needs to be sold on the spot market.
Based on the Indian tender results, the price range for granular and prilled urea is now at $275-$285/mt FOB.
Indonesia: Pusri closed its selling tender for 20,000 mt in 5,000 mt lots on March 30. Prices showed a dramatic drop from the previous sale at $331/mt FOB. Sources say even at the $312-$315/mt FOB price range, finding a buyer will be difficult.
In the past, industrial buyers were willing to pay more for the Indonesian tons. Now, say sources, the danger of China dumping equally high-quality urea on the market is making some buyers hesitant about paying a premium to Indonesia.
Tender results follow.
Bidding Company
US$/mt FOB
Trada
315.00
Summit
312.00
Youngwoo
311.00
BBSC
310.00
Diva Trasindo
310.00
Graja
308.00
Profeta
306.00
Liven
305.00
Consilindo
295.00
RCL
290.00
Sources report Trada withdrew from the tender. Summit is expected to be awarded the contract.
Bangladesh: The government may face a shortage of urea due to the closure of five large plants for the next two months. The government decided March 29 to increase power generation by curtailing gas supply to urea plants – the Karnaphuli Fertiliser Co., Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd., Jamuna Fertiliser Co. Ltd., Urea Fertiliser Factory Ltd., and Palash Urea Fertiliser. The stock of urea fertilizer was 538,380 mt at the end of February, according to the government. Last year the government closed down three fertilizer factories in phases to run the gas-fired power plants and increase the overall supply of electricity across the country.
NITROGEN SOLUTIONS
U.S. Gulf: Recent trades were put in the $205-$210/st ($6.41-$6.56/unit) FOB range. While there were rumors of $195/st FOB, sources attributed this to netbacks from deals done at terminals upriver.
Eastern Cornbelt: UAN-32 continued to be quoted in the $257-$265/st ($8.03-$8.28/unit) range FOB regional terminals. Several Illinois sources again put the dealer market more commonly at the $260/st ($8.13/unit) FOB level for spot tons last week. One Illinois source quoted mid-grade ammonium sulfate at the $220/st FOB level.
Western Cornbelt: The UAN-32 market was generally quoted in the $255-$265/st ($7.97-$8.28/unit) range FOB regional terminals to the dealer, although some suppliers continued to reference higher numbers. The market in Kansas and Oklahoma was pegged in the $240-$260/st ($7.50-$8.13/unit) FOB range, depending on location, with reports of tight supplies out of Enid.
Northern Plains: The UAN-28 market was quoted at $225-$235/st ($8.04-$8.39/unit) FOB regional terminals, with the low end FOB the Twin Cities and Winona, Minn. Delivered UAN-28 in North Dakota was reported in the $245-$255/st ($8.75-$9.11/unit) range, depending on location, with the low end of the range reflecting April pricing and the upper number for May deliveries.
Great Lakes: The UAN market was up from last report. Sources quoted UAN-28 at $225-$235/st ($8.04-$8.39/unit) FOB in the region, with UAN-32 reported at $260-$263/st ($8.13-$8.22/unit) FOB. The upper end of the UAN-32 range was quoted by Michigan sources FOB Courtright, Ontario.
Northeast: Sources quoted UAN-30 at $210-$220/st ($7.00-$7.33/unit) FOB Baltimore, with the low end reportedly for tons pulled before April 9. A Delaware source pegged the market out of terminals in his location at $214.50/st ($7.15/unit) FOB. Out of tanks in upstate New York, the UAN-32 market was quoted at $7.70/unit FOB to the dealer.
AMMONIUM NITRATE
U.S. Gulf: Recent barge trades have been hard to find. Some said the low $250s/st FOB are now gone, and that if a buyer wants to play ball they have to pay $260/st FOB.
Western Cornbelt: Ammonium nitrate remained at $285-$290/st FOB, with the low in Missouri and the upper end in Iowa. One source tagged the Catoosa, Okla., nitrate market at the $285/st FOB level last week.
AMMONIUM SULFATE
Eastern Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate had reportedly firmed to $235-$240/st FOB, with delivered product quoted at the $240/st level from several sources. There was talk of another increase taking effect in early April, but that was not confirmed.
Western Cornbelt: Granular ammonium sulfate was tagged at $230-$240/st FOB in the region, reflecting an increase from last report. One source said Midwest granular ammonium sulfate shipments had been suspended by one supplier until April 15, although that was not confirmed directly by the company.
Northern Plains: Granular ammonium sulfate was pegged at $230-$235/st FOB in the region, with delivered product reportedly listed as high as $255/st from some regional suppliers.
Great Lakes: Sources quoted the granular ammonium sulfate market at $235-$242/st FOB in the region, with rail delivered product pegged at the $240/st level to points in southern Wisconsin.
Northeast: Granular ammonium sulfate remained at $200-$205/st FOB and $230-$235/st DEL in the region, but sources said a $20/st increase was slated for early April.
PHOSPHATES
Central Florida: Warm weather in the Southeast and a threat of rain in the Northeast worked to balance the market out of Central Florida last week, but prompt railcar shipments were scarce. A trader was able to sell two railcars of DAP at $415/st FOB last week.
The Central Florida DAP price range last week changed from $415-$420/st FOB the previous week to $410-$415/st FOB. Mosaic’s posted price was $415/st FOB, but it was also offering to some buyers as low as $410/st FOB, while CF’s price matched Mosaic’s. PCS Sales was charging market-based prices. Prices from Agrifos were $450/st FOB for DAP and $460/st FOB for MAP, but railcars were about $5/st FOB less, if available.
U.S. Gulf: Spring sprang last week, and as temperatures warmed and rain abated, terminals and warehouses were seeing a strong uptick in business as many farmers were moving into their fields and others were getting ready. The surge at that level did not automatically spur activity in the NOLA DAP barge market, where sales were scarce.
Many buyers believe the price of phosphate will drop – and it may, but not by much and not for long, say others. The biggest problem will be getting prompt barges during the next two or three months. Producers and those that handle their output have committed most of the product to export sales. The number of NOLA DAP barges on the river was limited last week, and the only new ones that will be available will be from those who ordered earlier and were waiting for delivery. Many of those were bought below the $400/st FOB level, so they should be profitable.
The restraints to higher prices were relatively low warehouse prices – generally between $440/st FOB and $460/st FOB – and the price of corn. Corn prices drifted south last week, and were holding well below the magic mark of $4/bushel. Part of the price decline was due to the estimate issued last week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which said about 88.798 million acres would be planted this season, an increase of a million acres over the actual amount last season.
More than one source said less phosphate has been ordered than normal, possibly 50 to 60 percent of the norm, so some crops will not receive as much as they may need. The reason for the reduction in buying was due to more caution by dealers, who feared being caught in a bind if prices declined.
Confirmed transactions on NOLA DAP barge sales were limited last week, but a deal was done at $410/st FOB early in the week. Buyers began bidding lower amounts – some as low as $400/st FOB – but no sellers were interested.
Based on activity last week, the NOLA DAP barge price range was a flat $410/st FOB, which was down from the previous week’s range of $415-$420/st FOB. However, watch for prices to either stabilize or rise as warehouse bins begin to empty and reordering takes off this week, say sources.
Eastern Cornbelt: DAP was quoted at $455-$465/st FOB regional warehouses, with the low out of river terminals and the upper numbers inland. One Illinois source quoted direct transferred tons at the $450/st level out of spot river locations last week. CF reposted DAP for the March 30 through April 2 order and shipping period at $455/st FOB Peoria, Ill., and $460/st FOB Cincinnati, Ohio.
MAP was $10-$15/st higher than DAP. 10-34-0 was pegged at $355-$365/st FOB in the region.
Western Cornbelt: DAP was reported at $450-$460/st FOB, with MAP $10-$15/st higher and reportedly in tight supply on the river system. CF reposted DAP for the March 30 through April 2 order and shipping period at $450/st FOB St. Louis, Mo., and Inola, with MAP at $460/st FOB Inola.
10-34-0 was quoted at $350-$360/st FOB in the region, with one Iowa source reporting a $365/st DEL price to his location.
Northern Plains: DAP continued to be quoted in the $460-$465/st range FOB the Twin Cities, with MAP $10/st higher. A North Dakota dealer reported rail-delivered MAP as high as $515-$520/st to his location. CF reposted DAP for the March 30 through April 2 order and shipping period at $460/st FOB Pine Bend, Minn., with MAP at $470/st FOB Pine Bend.
The 10-34-0 market was reported at $325-$345/st FOB, with the low in Grand Forks, N.D., and the upper end in the Twin Cities. One North Dakota source also quoted a $355/st DEL 10-34-0 price last week.
Great Lakes: DAP pricing covered a broad range at $455-$485/st FOB regional warehouses, with the low reported by southern Wisconsin sources out of spot river locations. One Wisconsin source quoted rail-delivered DAP at the $480/st mark to his location in late March. MAP was $10/st higher than DAP.
The 10-34-0 market remained at $360-$365/st FOB in the region.
Northeast: MAP was pegged at $475-$495/st FOB in the region, with DAP $10-$15/st less, where available. 10-34-0 was quoted at $345-$360/st FOB in the region.
U.S. Export: PhosChem, which agreed to sell India 2 million mt a week earlier, made no new export phosphate sales last week. However, both KeyTrade and Transammonia did.
KeyTrade sold 25,000 mt into Peru at a price said to be about $460/mt FOB, and Trammo made a 15,000-mt sale into Central America at the same price.
India also made buys last week from Russia, China, and Morocco at about the same $500/mt CFR price it has in other recent transactions. India is still not finished loading up on DAP, and will likely buy at least another 1 million mt during the next month or so. However, even lower numbers were also reported. Zuari reportedly bought 40-45,000 mt ex China from Liven at $495/mt CFR and 90-100,000 mt ex Open from Dreymoor at the same price.
Based on the two sales into Latin America last week, the export DAP price became a flat $460/mt FOB, compared to the wide range the previous week of $440-$470/mt.
China: Due to a cold planting season in China, Mosaic told analysts last week that China is likely to export 2-2.5 million mt of DAP starting in June.
POTASH
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources talked of slightly higher potash numbers as movement kicks into gear. Most sources put the warehouse market in the $415-$420/st FOB range in the region, with rail-delivered postings at the $430/st level. “We first saw some downward pressure, but if it all breaks at the same time there’ll be some upward pressure too,” said one contact.
Western Cornbelt: Most sources placed the granular potash market in the $400-$405/st FOB range on the low end, with dealer postings at the $420/st FOB level.
Northern Plains: Potash remained at $367-$380/st FOB Saskatchewan mines, depending on grade and supplier. Delivered potash was quoted in the $420-$430/st range in the region. One Minnesota source put the low end of the warehouse market from resellers at $400/st FOB in late March.
Great Lakes: Potash continued to be quoted in the $420-$427/st FOB range, with the upper end for white granular tons. Wisconsin sources tagged rail-delivered granular potash firmly at the $430/st level from producers.
Northeast: The potash market remained at $410-$420/st FOB and $430-$440/st rail-DEL, depending on grade and location, with the upper end reflecting reference levels from producers.
SULFUR
Tampa: Negotiations for second-quarter sulfur prices began last week, which was pretty remarkable in itself, because that normally doesn’t happen until the new quarter is already underway.
Meanwhile, supply remained tight, despite the fact that more refineries were returning to service after turnarounds and production increased to 82.6 percent from 81.1 percent a week earlier.
Speculation on new sulfur contracts was uniformly that prices would go up. How much was the big question, but it could be between $60/lt and $100/lt, depending on the desperation on each side.
No serious transportation issues were found last week.
Vancouver: Canadians were said to be settling their new sulfur contracts at around $180/mt FOB Vancouver, which would net a price of over $200/mt delivered to China.
Compass Minerals has named Jim Wolf vice president, environmental, health, safety, and security, and Carol Wood vice president, enterprise risk management and financial planning and analysis. Wolf joined the company in 1992 and was most recently director, environmental, health, and safety. He is a licensed professional engineer, holding a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Kansas State University. Wood joined the company in 1996 and most recently served as director of financial planning & analysis and risk management. She holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master of business administration degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
Specialty phosphate producer Innophos Holdings Inc., Cranbury, N.J., reports that effective April 1, 2010, Joseph Golowski, currently serving as vice president, sales, has been appointed to the newly created position of vice president, specialty phosphates business. The focus of this new position is to increase growth across the company’s portfolio, especially its highest-value specialty products, through optimization of the sales and business management teams. Golowski will continue to head the Innophos sales and commercial development functions. He will also assume leadership of business management and marketing, which were previously managed by Tim Treinen, who is retiring after a career spanning more than 37 years with Innophos and predecessor companies, and 23 years in the phosphate industry. Treinen, who is relinquishing his position of vice president, phosphates business, will continue to work with the company as special projects leader, focusing on a number of strategic initiatives until the end of 2010.
Golowski has been with Innophos since its formation in 2004 and has served as Innophos’ vice president, sales, since 2006. With predecessor company history dating back to 1989 when he joined Rhodia as a market development specialist, he has held increasingly responsible positions in business development, sales, marketing, and management. He holds a B.S. in Ceramic Engineering from Rutgers University, College of Engineering.
CropLife Canada announced that Nadine Sisk, who joined the association in April 2008, has been named executive director of communications and member services. She will lead the communications team as it begins a new era focused on helping increase recognition of the important role that plant science technologies play in feeding the world, protecting public health, and delivering yields that meet the increasing demand for plant material to be used in feed, fuel, and other uses. Janice Tranberg, who has been with CropLife Canada since June 2007, has accepted the position of acting executive director of biotechnology, and will develop a world-class biotechnology division for the association that will aspire to setting the foundation for positive global biotechnology outcomes.
“Both Janice and Nadine have proven themselves to be valuable contributors to the association, and I am pleased that they have agreed to take on even greater responsibility as CropLife Canada embarks on this next ambitious phase of growth for Canada’s plant science industry,” said Lorne Hepworth, president of CropLife Canada.
Lake Forest, Ill.-Tenneco Automotive is promoting a competing technology for diesel exhaust fuel (DEF) used in selective catalytic reduction. According to Tenneco, the new hydrocarbon lean NOx catalyst system for diesel emissions control uses E85, which is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, as a reductant. A Tenneco engineer explained that diesel fuel as a reductant can attain moderate NOx reductions, but E85 can achieve significantly better conversion numbers. He said exactly why E85 works so well for NOx abatement is not yet fully understood, but its oxygen content and volatility are thought to be major factors. Urea SCR systems typically use copper- or iron-based catalysts, but Tenneco’s system employs a unique silver-based catalyst. General Electric is the producer, but Tenneco has exclusive rights to this specific catalyst formulation from GE for a majority of the on- and off-road emissions control markets, except large locomotive applications. The intention is to use both diesel fuel and E85 in the same exhaust system and catalyst. Typically, diesel fuel would be used for NOx control under light loads, while E85 would come into play during heavier loads and stop-and-go cycles. Another advantage E85 has over urea is its ability to withstand lower temperatures, which means that the storage tank on the vehicle would not require the heaters and heated lines that DEF tanks need.
Oslo-Yara International ASA said March 30 that it reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent from 2004 to 2009, surpassing company targets by 12 percent. Driving much of this reduction is Yara’s innovative catalyst technology, which decreases nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from its nitric acid plants by up to 90 percent. “It is a well-known fact that fertilizer production requires processes that emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases,” said Yara President and CEO Jørgen Ole Haslestad. “Ever since its inception, Yara has stated a desire to shape the industry with best practices to reduce greenhouse gases. Our initial goal was to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 2004 to 2009. While we are very pleased to have surpassed this goal, we still have work to do. In order to claim our place among the most efficient companies in the industry, we are now aiming to reduce our emissions by another 8 percent by the year 2013. This will bring our total emissions reductions to 45 percent over 10 years.” In 2004, Yara’s total greenhouse gas emissions amounted to the equivalent of 19.7 million tons of CO2. By the end of 2009, greenhouse gas emissions totaled the equivalent of 12.5 million tons of CO2, a 37 percent reduction over five years when adjusted for new plants and market-related capacity reductions in 2009. Yara expects its N2O abatement catalyst pellets, which have provided the majority of its emissions reductions, to continue to be the major contributor to future reductions. Since the early 1990s, Yara has invested more than NOK 200 million in its catalyst technology, which breaks down N2O in the first stage of nitric acid plant production when ammonia is burned. By splitting the gas into nitrogen and oxygen, the catalyst pellets can reduce N2O emissions by up to 90 percent. Yara also sells its N2O abatement technology to other companies. Yara estimates that if all nitric acid plants worldwide used this technology, it would help reduce CO2 emissions by up to 100 million tons annually.
Calgary-Americas Petrogas Inc. has closed its previously announced equity financing by way of a private placement on a bought-deal basis by completing the sale of 12,345,700 common shares at a price of C$0.81 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately C$10 million. It also closed an equity financing by way of a private placement on a non-brokered basis of 7,407,414 common shares at a price of C$0.81 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately C$6 million. After the closing of the offerings, the corporation has approximately 123.9 million common shares issued and outstanding. Net proceeds received from the offerings will be used for the ongoing exploration and development of its Argentinean oil & gas properties, for the advancement of the Bayóvar potash project by the corporation’s subsidiary, GrowMax Agri Corp., and for general corporate purposes.
Kilgore, Texas-Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (MMLP) said March 26 that it and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Martin Midstream Finance Corp., completed the previously announced private placement of $200 million principal amount of 8.875 percent senior unsecured notes due April 1, 2018. The company received approximately $191.7 million in proceeds from the sale of the notes. MMLP used the net proceeds from the senior unsecured notes offering to repay borrowings under its existing credit facility, to terminate existing interest rate hedges, and to pay transaction fees, costs, and expenses.
Madison, Wisc.-Agriculture interests concerned about the increased costs of new farm runoff rules being proposed by the Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources have been assured there will be financial help in some cases. The changes, which involve performance standards to keep nutrients out of waterways during snow melt and rains, along with setbacks and implementation of a new phosphorus index, are still in the public comment phase, which closes April 12. Gordon Stevenson, who leads the department’s runoff management program, explained that the rules are being formulated because “runoff continues to pollute Wisconsin’s lakes, rivers, and groundwater, threatening public health, recreation, and our quality of life.” Stevenson said everybody needs to contribute to tackling the problems caused by algae, in addition to avoiding well contamination and preventing fish kills. “Financial assistance is available under our current program and is sustained in the proposed revisions to our rules. Installation of practices requiring capital expenditures generally qualify for 70 percent cost-share assistance. In hardship cases, cost share rates can go up to 90 percent.”
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