Ammonia output at one of the world’s largest production facilities will be curbed for the foreseeable future due to Trinidad & Tobago’s natural gas supply constraints, according to top fertilizer maker Nutrien Ltd.
Production capacity for the key crop nutrient ingredient at the island nation’s Point Lisas facility averaged only 70% in the second quarter, Nutrien Chief Executive Officer Ken Seitz said in a Thursday phone interview. That’s down from 80% in the previous quarter.
“As we look at gas availability in the island, we have the view that we are not going to be returning to 100% of capacity in Trinidad anytime soon,” Seitz said, citing ongoing talks with state-owned supplier National Gas Co. The Canadian company’s new mid-cycle assumptions expects the plant to produce at around 80% capacity.
Read More: Top Fertilizer Maker Curbs Trinidad Production on Gas Shortages
Over the last decade, the Trinidad ammonia utilization ran at 85%, said Alexis Maxwell, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. The Trinidad complex, which processes natural gas into ammonia at four plants, supplies customers in the US, Caribbean and Latin America. The plants produce about a third of Nutrien’s ammonia capacity.
--With assistance from Gerson Freitas Jr..
