|
Agrium to trim positions at Kenai plant
Agrium U.S. Inc. plans to close an ammonia plant at its North Kenai fertilizer facility and cut its work force by as many as 25 employees, a company official said.
The company will retain about 150 workers, said spokeswoman Lisa Parker.
Agrium will perform a turnaround, or maintenance, on two plants beginning later in October.
Plant 1 will continue to operate during the turnaround and shut down after work is complete at the end of October or when natural gas to run it is gone, Parker said. After the turnaround is done, Agrium will run one ammonia plant and one urea plant. Right now, it is running three plants.
Parker said the reduction in staff will occur either through attrition or layoffs when Plant 1 shuts down.
“It’s something that people have been talking about and expecting,” Parker said.
The Calgary, Alberta-based manufacturer of fertilizer products has a natural gas supply contract with Union Oil that expires Oct. 31. New contracts add a year Agrium had planned to shut down the facility at that time until it secured more gas supply contracts with Cook Inlet producers, allowing it to stay open one more year.
The gas supply contracts are with a variety of producers, although specific companies and contract terms remain confidential.
The future of the plant is certain only for one more year. In the meantime, there will be ongoing talks with gas producers about future gas supply contracts, Parker said.
One piece of the gas supply puzzle has changed since Agrium initially announced plans to close last year: an agreement to allow gas producers to use a natural gas pipeline called the Cook Inlet Gas Gathering System.
CIGGS is a pipeline owned by Marathon Oil Co. and Union Oil (now owned by Chevron) that delivers natural gas from the west side to the east side of Cook Inlet. Previously, the pipeline was unregulated, meaning the owners controlled its use.
The pipeline has been open for third-party use since June under a temporary agreement reached while involved parties hashed out a final agreement filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska on Sept. 27. It is awaiting final approval by the commission.
—The Associated Press
| 