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CHS approves $3bn Spiritwood nitrogen plant

  • : Fertilizers, Natural gas
  • 14/09/05

CHS will proceed with construction of a proposed nitrogen fertilizer plant in Spiritwood, North Dakota, and plans for the facility to be operational in the first half of 2018.

The plant will produce more than 2,400 st/day (876,000 st/yr) gross ammonia which will be upgraded to urea, UAN and diesel exhaust fluid (DEF). The farmer-owned cooperative plans on primarily serving agricultural retailers within a 200-mile radius, including the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota, Montana and Canada.

CHS estimates the cost of the project at $3bn, up from initial projections of $1.5bn-2bn. The rise in capital expenditure caused the company to put the project on hold in April. CHS attributed the higher-than-expected cost to increased construction costs, likely owing to labor constraints in a state that has seen a boom in oil/gas shale development.

"Because of the size and scale of this investment, we needed to take the additional time to review costs and reassess areas where we could make modifications," CHS chief executive Carl Casale said. "We are now fully prepared to proceed with an investment that will add tremendous value to our member-owners, and further expand our global crop nutrients business platform."

Final plans for the project were approved by CHS' board of directors this week. Groundbreaking will take place after additional details are ironed out, CHS said.

CHS said it will be the lone investor for the project, which it called the "single largest private investment project ever undertaken in North Dakota." CHS is awaiting approval of its application for a $1bn Advanced Fossil Energy loan from the US Department of Energy. The company said the application is still in the first phase of review.

The plant will be served by the new 95-mile (153km) Wind Ridge natural gas pipeline built by WBI Energy.

Spiritwood is the second planned North Dakota urea plant to be approved. Dakota Gasification is currently building a $402mn, 1,100 st/day urea (401,500 st/yr) plant at its existing Great Plains Synfuels Plant in Beulah, North Dakota, that already produces 400,000 st/yr ammonia and 105,000 st/yr ammonium sulfate. Urea production is expected to begin in early 2017.

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25/03/10

US targets 'lower' oil price, no target: Wright

US targets 'lower' oil price, no target: Wright

Washington, 10 March (Argus) — US president Donald Trump's administration is pushing for lower oil prices but has set no specific price target and expects to bring more supply into the market through deregulation and permitting reform, US energy secretary Chris Wright says. "We certainly believe it's in the best interest of the American people, and honestly, the citizens of the world to have lower oil prices," Wright said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston. But he added that "I won't have a specific price" and that "the actions of this administration are to make it easier to produce more oil and natural gas for the producers, and therefore you get more investment." Unlike Wright, a former oil industry executive who has taken over the Department of Energy under Trump, other senior advisers to Trump have referred to $50/bl as a preferable oil price target. Those include treasury secretary Scott Bessent and Trump's trade adviser Peter Navarro. Trump's call on Opec to "bring down the price of oil" preceded the producer group's decision last week to proceed with plans to gradually return 2.2mn b/d of supply to the market. "We're pleased, of course, to see Opec returning barrels to the marketplace," Wright said, but he added that the US has made no "specific requests or demands". Climate change as "side effect" Wright, in a speech before the general CERAWeek audience, pounded on former president Joe Biden's administration for allegedly ignoring the concerns of the US oil and gas industry and basing its energy sector decisions on what Wright called "irrational, quasi-religious climate policies". Wright called climate change a "side effect" of economic development. "Everything in life involves trade-offs," he said. The potential benefits of Biden-era climate policies were not worth the "endless sacrifices on our citizens", Wright said. "The Trump administration intends to be much more scientific and mathematically literate." Wright's spirited defense of oil and gas and denunciation of climate change policies drew some applause from the audience. Still, the rapid pace of change in the US energy policy every four years is "not the right policy approach," Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth said at CERAWeek. The Trump administration's executive actions affecting the energy sector need to be backed by legislation that makes permitting reform possible, Wirth said. Wright acknowledged a possible contradiction between Trump's vision for lower oil prices and more output, but said that enabling more investment and new infrastructure would address that dilemma. "It's not just 'drill baby drill', it's also 'build baby build'," Wright said. Nasser supports transition Speaking at a separate panel, Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser echoed many of the same themes raised by Wright, including the claim that the energy transition did not address the needs of the world's poorest citizens in the emerging economies. But, unlike Wright who appeared to disparage solar and offshore wind resources, Nasser said that Saudi Arabia's energy transformation will make good use of renewable energy sources and will continue to aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Trump's administration surprised the US oil and gas industry on 4 March by proceeding with plans to impose a 10pc tax on Canadian energy imports and a 25pc tax on energy imports from Mexico. Trump lifted the tariffs on 7 March but has said he may bring them back on 2 April. "We have, behind closed doors, vigorous debates about tariffs, people arguing all sides of that," Wright said. "What is the ultimate outcome going to be? We don't know for sure." By Haik Gugarats Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

NorthAm market presumes potash is USMCA compliant


25/03/07
25/03/07

NorthAm market presumes potash is USMCA compliant

Houston, 7 March (Argus) — North American fertilizer market players presume that potash (MOP) imported from Canada to the US will be exempt from tariffs for now, despite lack of a clear definition from the latest White House executive order. Potash that is mined and produced in Canada would be considered compliant under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and should not face a duty during the tariff pause initiated by the administration of President Donald Trump on Thursday, industry sources told Argus . That understanding should account for the vast majority of MOP produced in Canada and exported to the US. Any potash that is not USMCA certified faces a reduced 10pc duty imposed this week during the month-long delay on the broader Canada and Mexico tariffs Trump has threatened, according to the executive order signed on Thursday. Though the details of what form of Canadian potash products may not be compliant is unclear, the fertilizer market assumption is that no tariffs will apply if data can be provided by the exporter, importer or producer to show the product crossing the border is USMCA compliant, sources said. Examples of non-certified potash product could be compound NPK fertilizers, which are created by mixing nitrogen, phosphate and potassium or other micronutrients, sources said. US industry association The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) called the new executive order's actions "a positive step forward" in its efforts to stress the importance of affordable fertilizer products. On a nutrient basis, the US imported 98pc of its potash in 2023 and about 85pc of those imports came from Canada, according to TFI. But some sources have voiced confusion regarding whether other imported Canadian fertilizer products, such as nitrogen, ammonia and sulfur, would also be considered USMCA compliant. Although sulfur is wholly produced in Canada as a by-product of crude oil refining, and ammonia is created through the usage of likely Canadian natural gas, the situation would be less clear for phosphate fertilizers from Mexico, where some raw materials are imported. The US imported 33pc of its urea consumption on a nutrient basis in 2023, where 15pc of imports came from Canada. For ammonia, the US imported 12pc of its consumption, 50pc of which came from Canada. And 35pc of US ammonium sulfate imports came from Canada in 2024, according to US Census Bureau data. By Taylor Zavala Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Brazil's GDP growth accelerates to 3.4pc in 2024


25/03/07
25/03/07

Brazil's GDP growth accelerates to 3.4pc in 2024

Sao Paulo, 7 March (Argus) — Brazil's economic growth accelerated to an annual 3.4pc last year, the fastest growth since 2021, as gains in the services and industry sectors offset contractions in the agriculture sector, according to government statistics agency IBGE. Growth accelerated from 3.2pc in 2023 and 3pc the prior year. Growth was at 4.8pc in 2021 as the economy recovered from the Covid-19 induced contraction of 3.3pc in 2020. Agriculture contracted by 3.2pc in 2024 after a 15.1pc gain the year prior. The sector's weak performance came as Brazil faced extreme climate events last year that damaged crops , IBGE said. Corn and soybean output fell by 4.6pc and 12.5pc, respectively, according to IBGE. The industrial sector grew by 3.3pc last year after a 1.6pc gain in 2023. Manufacturing industries rose by 3.8pc, driven by a higher output of vehicles, transport equipment, machinery and electric equipment, according to IBGE. Electricity and gas, water and sewage management increased by 3.6pc in 2024 but still decelerated from a 6.5pc gain a year earlier. Higher temperatures throughout 2024 drove the increase, IBGE said. On the other hand, the climate was unfavorable for power generation. The oil, natural gas and mining industry grew by 0.5pc in 2024 from a year earlier. Gross fixed capital formation — which measures how much companies increased their capital goods — rose by 7.3pc from a 3pc contraction in 2023, led by higher domestic output and capital goods imports. Exports rose by 2.9pc, while imports rose by 14.7pc last year. Investment grew by 17pc. Household consumption increased by 4.8pc from a year prior, driven by a 6.6pc unemployment rate — the lowest registered since IBGE started its historic record in 2012 — federal social aid programs and increased lending. Government spending rose by 1.9pc in 2024 from a year earlier. Quarterly GDP Brazil's GDP growth slowed to an annual 3.6pc in the fourth quarter from 4pc in the third quarter, with several sectors contracting, according to IBGE. Agriculture contracted by an annual 1.5pc in the fourth quarter, with 2.9pc and 0.9pc contractions in the wheat and sugarcane crops, respectively, IBGE said. But the industrial sector grew by an annual 2.5pc in the quarter. Manufacturing posted 5.3pc growth, led by the steel sector and higher output of machinery, equipment, vehicles and chemicals. The services sector grew by 3.4pc. The oil, natural gas and mining industry contracted by 3.6pc from a year earlier thanks to a decrease in oil, gas and iron output, IBGE said. Electricity and gas, water, and sewage management fell by an annual 3.5pc, on lower power consumption as power rates became more expensive amid a drought that struck the country in mid-2024. Household consumption grew by an annual 3.7pc, while government spending grew by 1.2pc in the fourth quarter. Gross fixed capital formation increased by an annual 9.4pc in the fourth quarter, according to IBGE. Exports fell by 0.7pc, while imports, which subtract from growth, rose by 16pc. By Maria Frazatto Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Libya unveils upstream licensing round details


25/03/07
25/03/07

Libya unveils upstream licensing round details

London, 7 March (Argus) — Libya has unveiled new details from its first upstream oil and gas licensing round in 18 years. The licensing round offers 22 blocks for exploration and development, split equally between onshore and offshore, according to a summary brochure seen by Argus . State-owned NOC said the blocks are estimated to hold in-place resources of more than 10bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe), while nine of the blocks contain undeveloped discoveries with estimated in place reserves of 1.68bn boe. The bid round is being offered up with a new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) model, replacing the outdated Epsa 4 contract model of Libya's last licensing round in 2007. NOC said the new PSA could increase contractor internal rate of return (IRR) to 35.8pc compared with 2.5pc under existing terms. Contractors would also share profits with NOC from day one, while a fixed rate for cost recovery would shorten the investment payback period. While the licensing round was officially launched on 3 March in Tripoli, little or no detail had been unveiled until today. There still appears to be no publicly available information on the timeline for bid submissions and awards. Libya also appears to have updated its long-standing crude production target of 2mn b/d. The brochure accompanying the licensing round now mentions a "vision to produce 2mn-3mn b/d." Libya currently produces about 1.4mn b/d of crude and 1.2bn ft³/d of gas, which it wants to increase to 4bn ft³/d. Oil minister Khalifa Abdulsadek previously told Argus that the licensing round was primarily aimed at boosting reserves and keeping output steady. The country's political divisions remain a key risk to the success of Libya's output goals and its latest licensing round. By Aydin Calik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

US adds 151,000 jobs in February, unemployment up


25/03/07
25/03/07

US adds 151,000 jobs in February, unemployment up

Houston, 7 March (Argus) — The US added 151,000 nonfarm jobs in February and the unemployment rate ticked higher, but federal jobs fell, possibly reflecting the first of the mass layoffs launched by the new US administration. The job growth was under the 160,000 jobs forecast by analysts surveyed by Trading Economics. It followed upwardly revised job growth of 323,000 in January and downwardly revised growth of 125,000 in December, marking downward combined revisions of 2,000 reported Friday by the Labor Department. Monthly job gains averaged 168,000 over the prior 12 months. Unemployment rose to 4.1pc from 4pc. Average hourly earnings grew at a 4pc annual rate, down from 4.1pc in the prior period. Manufacturing added 10,000 jobs in February, with motor vehicles and parts adding 9,000 jobs. Mining and logging added 5,000. Health care added 52,000 jobs in February, financial activities added 21,000 jobs and transportation and warehousing added 18,000 jobs. Retail trade fell by 11,000. Federal jobs fell by 10,000 in February, possibly reflecting the first of the mass layoffs launched by the new US administration earlier last month. While federal government jobs fell, state and local government jobs grew by 20,000. The employment report comes one day after employment consultancy Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that US-based employers announced 172,000 job cuts in February, the highest for the month since 2009 , led by federal job cuts. Federal government job cuts totaled 62,242 announced by 17 different agencies as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)'s mass layoffs and contract cancellations, Challenger said. Most of the job cuts captured by Challenger were in the latter part of the month, while the government employment report is based on a survey that includes the pay period encompassing the 12th of the month. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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