Phosphates

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Australian fertilizer firm Minbos Resources, who is advancing the Cabinda Phosphate project in Angola, announced it has received the first funding from the Angolan Sovereign Wealth Fund for $6.4 million and expects to finalize the construction contract this month. The company said mobilization to the phosphate fertilizer plant, located at Subantando, a new industrial area between the mine site and Cabinda city, is also planned to commence this month with phase 1 to include earthworks, access roads, drainage and concrete foundations. Another $2.43 million will be released upon mobilization of the civil contractor and upon aligning the governance arrangements of the Angolan subsidiaries, with a third disbursement of $1.17 million upon finalizing project insurances and presentation of supplier quotations for project long lead items. Minbos Resources managing director Lindsay Reed said the receipt of this funding and the commencement of construction marks the end of one journey for the company and the beginning of another with the focus now switching to construction activities, sales and marketing and advance their future as a producer of phosphate fertilizer. The Cabinda project, located in northeast Angola, is being developed based on an initial name plate capacity of 150,000 tonnes/year of enhanced phosphate rock with initial production calculated at 50,000 tonnes/year. Previously Minbos said expansion will come in two stages with it planning to add a second and third granulation circuit to reach a name plate capacity of 450,000 tonnes/year after eight years of operations.

03-Dec-2024

LONDON (ICIS)–Countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have submitted a letter to the European Commission calling for customs duty to be imposed on imports of fertilizers from Russia and Belarus, the Polish Ministry of Development and Technology has confirmed. The duty being discussed is 30-40% for nitrogen, phosphate and potash fertilizers. Market participants believe a duty is unlikely to be imposed given Europe’s dependence on Russian fertilizer, especially when gas prices are rising, which could hit domestic production in Europe. European buyers have delayed imports, including of urea, to the first quarter of 2025. It is unlikely any government would want to antagonize the farming community further when there have been protests by farmers across many countries over the cost of inputs and taxes. Domestic producers, including in northwest Europe such as Germany, have been campaigning for duties on Russian fertilizers, but met with no success. Local producers say imports are available at competitive prices, partly due to the low cost of Russian natural gas. This puts pressure on European producers, particularly when it comes to remaining competitive while maintaining profitability. The concern is that the lower Russian prices could lead to an oversupply, creating unfair competition for European suppliers who may not be able to match those prices. There is also a broader concern about Europe, and Germany in particular, becoming too dependent on Russian resources – both in terms of urea and potentially other agricultural inputs. Data from the first eight months of the year shows an increase of more than 50% in fertilizer imports to the EU from Russia compared with the same period last year. In January-August, Russia was the biggest supplier of urea to Poland, at 426,342 tonnes, more than double the 207,981 tonnes in the same period of 2023, according to customs data. Additional reporting by Julia Meehan Thumbnail image source: Shutterstock

22-Nov-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Nutrien said demand in North America for the fall fertilizer application has been supported by a relatively early harvest along with the need to replenish soil nutrients following a period of lower field activity in the third quarter. In its latest market outlook, the Canadian fertilizer major said favorable growing conditions in the US have supported expectations for record corn and soybean yields and significant soil nutrient removal in 2024. The company did note that prospective crop margins have declined compared to the historically high levels in recent years, however Nutrien’s view is most growers in the key region of the US Midwest remain in a healthy financial position. One positive factor that the producer sees is that global grain stocks remain below historical average levels which support export demand for North American crops and firm prices for key agriculture commodities such as rice, sugar and palm oil. Looking at crop nutrient, Nutrien said it has raised 2024 global potash shipment forecast to 70 million – 72 million tonnes primarily driven by stronger expected demand in Brazil and Southeast Asia. The company said it believes the increase in global shipments this year has been driven by an underlying increase in consumption in key markets. The forecast for global potash shipments in 2025 is between 71 million – 74 million tonnes, which Nutrien said supported by the need to replenish soil nutrient levels and the relative affordability of potash. It does anticipate limited new capacity next year and the potential for incremental supply tightness with demand growth. Regarding global ammonia the producer said prices have been supported by supply outages, project delays and higher European natural gas values. For urea Nutrien said that Chinese export restrictions, production challenges from major exporters and strong demand from India and Brazil have tightened the global urea market. It noted that US nitrogen inventory was estimated to be well below average levels at the end of the third quarter, and the company is expecting it will support demand in the fourth quarter of 2024 and early 2025. For global phosphates, the situation remains tight which is furthered by Chinese export restrictions and production outages in the US. Nutrien said it anticipates some impact on global demand due to tight supply and weaker affordability relative to potash and nitrogen.

06-Nov-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Australian Fertoz Limited said demand for direct application of rock phosphate and their fertilizer pellet product Fertify remained positive in Q3, with significant orders for Fertify starting in September. The company expects this uptick to continue through late 2024 with the phosphate producer saying this positive direction has come forth despite significant losses for farmers in the Alberta region of Canada due to pre-harvest hailstorms. In its quarterly activities report, Fertoz said there were delays in upgrades to granulation processing equipment by key customers, which slowed sales, but the expectations are for completion of these upgrades by year’s end. Fertoz managing director and CEO Daniel Gleeson said the bulk sample permit for 10,000 tonnes in Barnes is in the final stages with submission of a technical assessment review to the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation. This permit is expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 mining season, with the next bulk sample permit at Pump Station, also for 10,000 tonnes, part of their overall advancement towards receiving an industrial minerals permit for up to 250,000 tonnes. The industrial permit is also expected to be completed early next year with Gleeson saying Fertoz continues to assess their Wapiti project for suitability of making phosphoric acid for the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and liquid phosphate fertilizer markets. “Wapiti samples have been received by the testing party, with positive desktop results achieved, and will now process them in the laboratory for final reportable and definitive results. These final testing results are expected in December,” said Gleeson. “Concurrently we continue to engage with relevant parties of the LFP supply chain industry in North America who have expressed interest in our resources.” He said because of the significant direct government investments across North America and substantial future tax credits that overall interest remains elevated in their high quality, low impurity sedimentary rock phosphate deposits.

28-Oct-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Affected by tropical weather impacts in late September, Canadian fertilizer major Nutrien confirmed its Florida phosphate facility in White Springs did restart late last week. While the producer has not revealed its post-storm assessment, it did say the operations were currently ramping up production. The site was among other Nutrien operations that were shut down under safety protocols during storm-induced power failures as Hurricane Helene made landfall. Following the storm, the company had stated all its colleagues were safe, but many area roads were closed due to downed power lines and flooding. The first storm was followed by the recent Hurricane Milton, but Nutrien said after that event it was not impacted at the White Springs phosphate facility and it was working with customers on any potential impacts to supply. There were no further details provided regarding supply disruption. Earlier in the day, producer Mosaic said all its Florida-based employees were safe and that the Riverview facility has resumed activity and should return to normal rates by the end of the week. Further, it stated all other Florida sites have resumed operations with its mining activity in the process of restarting. Due to the storm impacts, the company does anticipate a production decrease with it estimated to fall between 200,000-250,000 tonnes in Q4.

21-Oct-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–The fertilizer industry, like the rest of the Tampa, Florida, community, was still feeling the effects from Hurricane Milton even days after the storm as producers continue to assess damages and determine the impact this might have on their production. With electrical power steadily being restored, the cleaning up efforts are also making progress with flooding appearing to have had the most far-reaching consequences as the incredible powerful hurricane is estimated to have unleashed 3.4 trillion gallons of water upon Florida. As a key hub for fertilizers in the US, with both production and logistics as well as storage and corporate offices, there had been concerns over how much destruction could have been experienced if it had not weakened some before landfall or had made a direct strike into Tampa. Industry sources within the area said some normality to everyday life was returning with market activity likely needing several more days to recover.  As a participant said it is “all good here, got power everywhere now. No damage to the office or homes.” For producers, the review of the consequences of Milton were still at hand but considering the magnitude of the event it looks like the industry’s assets held up fairly well and that output of phosphates will only see a very short delay. With their White Springs phosphate facility located within Florida, Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien had previously said it was not impacted by Hurricane Milton, but it was by the earlier strike of Hurricane Helene, with those affects still underway. “The timeline for re-starting our White Springs phosphate facility continues to be assessed. We are working with our customers on any potential impacts to supply,” said a Nutrien spokesperson. Having not completely escaped the wrath of Milton, Mosaic had confirmed on 14 October that there was limited damage to their facilities and warehouse product. The producer is expecting to resume full production in the coming days, and also said there was no significant environmental impacts that occurred due to the storm. It is understood that producer Yara did not suffer any damages or lost time at its ammonia plants from the hurricane.

15-Oct-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Entering day two of post-hurricane activities and as the community of Tampa and surrounding cities attempt to clean up and dry out, the fertilizer industry is still assessing damage with flooding appearing to have had the biggest impact on production sites. Striking as a Category 3 hurricane late 9 October the storm brought intense and life-threatening conditions to a section of Florida that had already faced such a threat less than two weeks before. It particularly impacted the Tamp, Florida area, which is a key hub of the US fertilizer industry. Market sources, based in this region, said most of the focus on Friday was cleaning up and trying to determine how much damaged had been caused. The extent of impacts to fertilizer facilities were not fully clear but producer Mosaic did say it had some issues because of the storm but that once it had the full updates about Hurricane Milton's impact on their facilities it would post on their website. As was the fear of environmentalists the gypstacks that are a fixture of phosphate production experienced problems with the water supporting the storage at the Mosaic Riverview facility having likely entered the Tampa Bay because of the extreme rainfall. “Back-to-back historic storms crossed our operational areas. Our sites withstood the conditions with few challenges. Our Riverview site, which has operated on Tampa Bay for the last century, received nearly 15 inches of rain during Hurricane Milton less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene,” said Mosaic. “A water collection system supporting our closed gypstack became overwhelmed, pushing excess water out a manhole on our property. At this time, we believe some of that impacted stormwater made its way to an outfall which discharges into Tampa Bay.” Mosaic said the issue was addressed on 10 October and is not continuing but added that the volume may have been greater than the 17,500-gallon reporting standard. “We expect water quality impacts, if any, to be modest. We’ve been in constant communication with regulators who are onsite today,” Mosaic said. Florida environmental authorities have not made any statement but ahead of the storm had said they were preparing and would have all resources available to oversee the regulated facilities and operations.

11-Oct-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Some ports in Florida have resumed operations while millions in the US state remain without power after Hurricane Milton made landfall earlier in the week, south of the fertilizer hub of Tampa. A few ports in Florida have maintained Port Condition Zulu, under which they are closed to inbound and outbound vessels. Others have reopened and have set Port Condition IV, which is a hurricane seasonal alert to which ports return after a storm. The following table summarizes the port conditions in Florida. Port Status Condition Port of Pensacola Open Normal Port Panama City Open Draft restrictions Port St Joe Open Normal Port Tampa Bay Closed Zulu SeaPort Manatee Closed Zulu PortMiami Open IV Port Everglades Open IV Port of Palm Beach Open IV Fort Pierce Open with Restrictions IV with restrictions Port Canaveral Open IV Jaxport Open IV Port of Fernandina Closed Zulu Source: US Coast Guard OUTAGESFlorida has more than 2.2 million reported outages, according to the website poweroutage.us. That is down by more than 1 million versus the immediate aftermath of the hurricane. Prolonged outages can disrupt economic activity and slow down demand for plastics and chemicals. CSX WARNS OF RAIL DELAYSThe railroad company CSX warned of delays while it works to clear tracks, install generators and conduct repairs. All routes north of Jacksonville, Florida are open with no anticipated issues, it said. The area south, from Callahan to the north end of Anthony, is also clear. Work continues in central Florida, and CSX is addressing washouts on the Carter and Vitis subdivisions. The CFR line should be open later Friday night, providing a potential route into Winter Haven. CSX is making contingency plans for possible issues with a gas pipe washout near the Miami area. IMPACT ON FERTILIZERS, PHOSPHATES, CHEMSFor chemicals, there is some epoxy resin, phenolic resin and unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) production in Lakeland and Kathleen, Florida. Milton will make landfall far from Pensacola, Florida, which has plants that make nylon and thermoset resins. Tampa is an important hub for the US fertilizer industry, hosting corporate offices, trading, product storage, shipping and other logistical operations. Fertilizer producer Mosaic has its headquarters in Tampa. The company has not issued any statements regarding its corporate operations. A source at the fertilizer company Yara said it was shutting down its Tampa offices to comply with the evacuation orders. Near Tampa is Florida's phosphate mining operations in Bone Valley, which covers parts of Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee and Polk counties. In all, Florida has 27 phosphate mines, of which nine are active, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien has yet to restart its White Springs phosphate operations following Helene, an earlier hurricane that made landfall farther north in Florida’s Big Bend region. On 30 September, Mosaic said its Riverview operations were off line following water intrusion from a storm surge caused by Hurricane Helene. Thumbnail Photo: Hurricane Milton. (By Cira/Noaa/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock)

11-Oct-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Roaring ashore as a Category 3 hurricane late 9 October and bringing fierce winds, heavy rainfall and significant inland storm surge Hurricane Milton inundated the Tamp, Florida area, which is a key hub of the US fertilizer industry. In the aftermath of the storm there were market sources, based in this region, who were reporting being unharmed but that they were now facing considerable flooding, which was causing property damage in places and overall restricting public movement. The section of Florida pounded by Milton is the location of not only production sites but also storage and logistic operations as well as corporate office facilities and the home to the numerous employees of the local fertilizer industry. The Port of Tampa, which handles about 25% of domestic fertilizer exports, said on their website that recovery efforts have begun, and that staff is working with the US Army Corps of Engineers, US Coast Guard and other maritime partners to assess landside and seaside operations. “Our port is currently without power. Some damage was observed to buildings but there has been no significant damage to docks, so far. The port is accessible through main gates, but please be advised there are road closures and flooding concerns in the surrounding roadways to our port,” the Port of Tampa announced. “We are working with our fuel terminal operators to assess their facilities and learn when they will be able to return to service. Individual port tenants will make independent decisions on when to resume their operations.” The extent of impacts to the fertilizer industry were not yet clear but Canadia fertilizer producer Nutrien, who only has the White Springs phosphate facility within Florida, said the company is still dealing with the impacts of the last storm but was able to avoid further issues from this hurricane. “While Nutrien’s White Springs phosphate facility was not impacted by Hurricane Milton, we are continuing to assess the timeline for White Springs’ restart following Hurricane Helene.  Nutrien’s nitrogen facilities were not impacted by Hurricane Milton,” said a Nutrien spokesperson. Fertilizer titan Mosaic, who not only has their headquarters within Tampa but also has numerous assets for production and logistics, said their immediate focus is on their workforce. “As Hurricane Milton has now passed through central Florida, we are working to contact our employees and confirm their safety. When conditions allow, we'll begin assessing the impacts on our operations,” said Mosaic. There were concerns ahead of the storm over the potential environmental consequences of Milton as Florida has 25 stacks of slightly radioactive phosphogypsum waste that are a by-product of phosphate fertilizer production. The fear that the winds and rains could release the material across the land and water resources that are nearby as has occurred in past hurricane events. There was no immediate report of the conditions of the stacks as of late 10 October but ahead of the storm Florida environmental officials had said they were preparing and would have all resources available to oversee the regulated facilities and operations. Sources said the areas that were more south of Tampa were apparently struck harder but there has not been full confirmation of the damages inflicted with a source saying it is a “different story down there”. There were weather reports of over 18 inches of rain having been received in nearby St Petersburg, Florida. The hurricane also generated several strong tornadoes as it approached which are being blamed for some of the physical damage to structures. A market participants said that with it being less than 24 hours since landfall it was going to take some time for the fertilizer industry to assess the scale of the impacts from Milton, saying it is “too soon for that”. Federal and state officials have not yet projected an estimated amount of damages as assessments were just barely getting underway. It likely did great harm to the Florida citrus industry with orange groves bearing fruit and drawing close to their harvest period. It is feared that it will be determined in the coming days that the storm’s intensity will result in a substantial decline in production this season, with others crops having also been exposed to harm like sugarcane and strawberries.

10-Oct-2024

HOUSTON (ICIS)–Nearly 3.4 million outages have been reported in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall as a powerful Category 3 hurricane near Sarasota, Florida, south of the important fertilizer hub of Tampa. Milton may have caused more damage had it passed over Tampa, according to CoreLogic, an insurance data company. RAIL UPDATERailroad company CSX said it has relocated all of its locomotives and cars from low-lying areas in Tampa and rerouted them. CSX operations will continue in and out of Waycross from the north, east and west directions. It will continue operating into and out of the intermodal ramps at Jacksonville, Florida. On 8 October, CSX said it had taken the following steps. Closed the Central Florida ILC intermodal gate. Closed the Tampa, FL intermodal gate. Closed the TRANSFLO terminals at Tampa, Tampa Port and Sanford. Another railroad company, Norfolk Southern, has not updated its notice from 7 October, when it said it was monitoring and preparing for Hurricane Milton. FLORIDA PORTS REMAIN CLOSEDMany ports in Florida have maintained their Zulu port conditions, which means they are closed to inbound and outbound vessels. The following table summarizes the conditions among the major ports in Florida. Port Status Condition Port of Pensacola Open Normal Port Panama City Open Draft restrictions Port St Joe Open Normal Port Tampa Bay Closed Zulu SeaPort Manatee Closed Zulu PortMiami Open Yankee Port Everglades Open Yankee Port of Palm Beach Closed Zulu Fort Pierce Closed Zulu Port Canaveral Closed Zulu Jaxport Closed Zulu Port of Fernandina Closed Zulu Source: US Coast Guard. IMPACT ON FERTILIZERS, PHOSPHATES, CHEMSFor chemicals, there is some epoxy resin, phenolic resin and unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) production in Lakeland and Kathleen, Florida. Milton will make landfall far from Pensacola, Florida, which has plants that make nylon and thermoset resins. Tampa is an important hub for the US fertilizer industry, hosting corporate offices, trading, product storage, shipping and other logistical operations. Fertilizer producer Mosaic has its headquarters in Tampa. The company has not issued any statements regarding its corporate operations. A source at the fertilizer company Yara said it was shutting down its Tampa offices to comply with the evacuation orders. Near Tampa is Florida's phosphate mining operations in Bone Valley, which covers parts of Hardee, Hillsborough, Manatee and Polk counties. In all, Florida has 27 phosphate mines, of which nine are active, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien has yet to restart its White Springs phosphate operations following Helene, an earlier hurricane that made landfall farther north in Florida’s Big Bend region. On 30 September, Mosaic said its Riverview operations were off line following water intrusion from a storm surge caused by Hurricane Helene. POSSIBLE DAMAGEHurricane Milton could be extremely destructive because of its winds, rainfall and storm surge. It will pass over the following metropolitan statistical areas. Region Population Tampa 3,342,963 Orlando 2,817,933 Jacksonville 1,713,240 Sarasota 910,108 Source: US Census Bureau CoreLogic, the insurance data company, said Milton’s shift to the south of Tampa could limit the magnitude of insured losses. CHEMS AND RECONSTRUCTIONFor hurricanes in general, reconstruction can translate into increased demand for many chemicals and polymers. The white pigment titanium dioxide (TiO2) is used in paints. Solvents used in paints and coatings include butyl acetate (butac), butyl acrylate (butyl-A), ethyl acetate (etac), glycol ethers, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and isopropanol (IPA). Blends of aliphatic and aromatic solvents are also used to make paints and coatings. For polymers, expandable polystyrene (EPS) and polyurethane (PU) foam are used in insulation. PUs are made of methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI), toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and polyols. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is used in pipes. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is used to make cladding, window frames, wires and cables, flooring and roofing membranes. Unsaturated polyester resins (UPRs) are used to make coatings and composites. Vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) is used to make paints and adhesives.

10-Oct-2024