Arkansas Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant Terminates Production and Prepares for Permanent Closure

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Terra Industries (Sioux City, Iowa) has stopped production of its approximately 1,000 ton per day ammonia unit and 1,400 ton per day urea unit in June of this year at its Blytheville, Arkansas, plant. The plant accounts for 14% of Terra's total ammonia capacity and 73% of its total urea capacity. Currently, plans are to dismantle and sell the urea unit and to demolish the ammonia unit, at an estimated total plant closure cost of $4 million dollars.

The decision to close the plant was based on the rising cost of natural gas, imported ammonia, urea production competition, and the upcoming lull in off-season nitrogen demand. Terra plans to begin closing the plant by November of this year and be complete in Spring 2005.

Continental Oil bagan construction on the plant on March 19, 1965, going under the name Agrico in 1966. Several ownerships later, the plant was purchased by Terra in 1991 and has since produced 14 million tons of anhydrous ammonia and over ten million tons of urea.

Terra's overall combined capacities include 3.8 million tons of ammonia, 740,000 tons of the world’s most widely-used nitrogen fertilizer, urea, and 3.8 tons urea ammonium nitrate solutions, which is the most versatile nitrogen fertilizer in North America.

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