Agrium plans Australian fertilizer plant

Agrium Australia Pty Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Calgary-based Agrium Inc., is going to work alone on a building fertilizer plant in Australia.

The company was originally working on a feasibility study for the ammonia and urea production facility with two partners. But now the partnership has dissolved.

Agrium was to hold 51 percent of the equity in the Dampier Nitrogen Consortium, formed by a project development agreement in May of 2002. Plenty River Corp. Ltd. was expected to take 39 percent of the venture and Thiess Pty Ltd. 10 percent.

But Agrium executives say the three partners couldn’t come to terms on a final agreement. So Agrium plans to go ahead on its own.

Agrium hopes to build the plant on Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula. The plant site is near major natural gas deposits on the North West Shelf, and it’s close to Asian markets.

When the project originally was announced, a fourth company, Krupp Uhde of Germany, was also expected to participate.