Houston, 26 August (Argus) — CHS has applied for an air permit for its proposed fertilizer plant in Spiritwood, North Dakota, and is pursuing a merger with Dakota Plains Cooperative.
CHS's proposed fertilizer manufacturing facility was first put forward in September 2012. The $1.5bn plant would produce an estimated 2,200 st/day ammonia with flexibility to upgrade into other nitrogen products such as urea and UAN.
The air permit application process includes state and federal review for the plant's emissions and is often the lengthiest part of the permit application process. CHS expects this to be completed within nine to 12 months. Meanwhile, the company's front-end engineering and design study should be finished in November.
Site construction could begin in early 2014 with a view to commencing production in 2016. The plant would serve the nearby regional retail and farmer markets in the Dakotas, parts of Minnesota, Montana and Canada.
Meanwhile, CHS also announced it is in discussions to explore a merger with Dakota Plains Cooperative, headquartered in Valley City, North Dakota, which owns 15 agricultural service locations in the state. CHS is now soliciting approval from its board of directors and Dakota Plains from its members before progressing on the talks.
Some of the merger proposals include the construction of three new fertilizer warehouse facilities within the Dakota Plains trade region. This would capitalize on the fertilizer manufacturing facility that CHS has proposed for Spiritwood. Further details will not be available until Dakota Plains Cooperative votes on the proposed merger.
A series of informational meetings for Dakota Plains Cooperative patrons is being scheduled for September to bring more information to area growers.
Send comments to feedback@argusmedia.com
lw/dcb 4.0
If you would like to review other ArgusMedia.com content options, request more information about Argus' energy news, data and analysis services.
Copyright © 2013 Argus Media Ltd - www.ArgusMedia.com - All rights reserved.
