The board of Yara International ASA has approved expansion projects at the company’s Belle Plaine (Canada) and Porsgrunn (Norway) facilities, which will add 1.3 million tons of urea and 300 kilotons NPK, respectively, upon completion of the projects.
"I am delighted to confirm these highly value-creating projects for Yara," said Jørgen Ole Haslestad, president and CEO of Yara. "Taking advantage of the excellent location of our existing Belle Plaine facility in Canada, we will increase our presence and scale in the North American market by more than doubling our capacity at the site. The Porsgrunn expansion marks an important step in our value-added fertilizer growth plans, driven by increasing demand for high-quality NPK fertilizer for cash crop markets outside Europe."
The Belle Plaine expansion will comprise an integrated world scale ammonia and urea line with a urea capacity of approximately 1.3 million tons per annum. Part of the urea produced will be with sulfur, which will meet the increasing demand from the canola crop segment in the Northern Plains region.
The Belle Plaine project is approved for a fast-track process, with expected start-up in the second half of 2016. The final decision to implement the project is subject to an EPC contract, and agreements with Saskatchewan authorities related to utilities and other key terms of the project.
In Porsgrunn, Yara will invest approximately NOK 300 million to increase NPK capacity by 300 kilotons. The project will be implemented with a gradual step-up in capacity from 2012 to completion in 2014.