There’s a dramatic energy transformation going on in the United States, and Cenex Harvest States (CHS) sits in the middle of it. According to CHS, “The energy boom in North Dakota’s Bakken region is not only contributing to greater North American energy independence but also pumping tremendous quantities of low-cost natural gas into the marketplace.”
Alan Goldsby works with CHS in their Crop Nutrients Division as their Urea and Sulfate Supply Manager. In a recent Northern Ag Network interview, he said that the above situation makes new ammonia production economically feasible for the first time in decades.
With that reality, CHS has started moving forward with building a brand new nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing facility in Spiritwood, North Dakota.
“As far as the project goes,” Goldsby says, “there are still some final details that need to be worked out.” Still, Goldsby says that they’re excited about the future of this project that is already seeing some dirt work taking place.
According to CHS, building a nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing facility at Spiritwood, N.D., is an opportunity to add value for CHS farmer owners by strengthening the crop nutrient supply. Once it is all said and done, the project is estimated to cost around $3 billion. The plant is expected to produce 2,400 tons per day of anhydrous ammonia.
As far as distribution, Goldsby says that they want the product to stay as close to home as possible due to freight costs. However, Goldsby says that they think there will be a good appetite for the product within a 200-mile radius of the plant. “Competition,” he says, “will dictate where the product goes.”
© Northern Ag Network 2014
Haylie Shipp
