Yara announces closure of Trinidad ammonia plant

Yara release

Oslo, 13 November 2019: Yara regrets to announce the closure of its wholly-owned ammonia plant in Point Lisas, Trinidad. The Yara Trinidad plant is one of three ammonia plants operated by Yara Trinidad Ltd. The remaining two plants, Tringen I and Tringen II, are jointly owned by Yara International ASA and National Enterprises Ltd (NEL).

The Trinidad plant is one of Yara's smallest ammonia plants, with an annual production capacity of approximately 270,000 tonnes ammonia. In addition to small scale, the plant has a lower energy efficiency than Yara's average. Plant profitability has also been impacted by lower ammonia prices, and in addition negotiations with The National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago (NGC) have failed to reach an agreement that could sustain plant operations. As a result, steps will be taken to safely shut down the plant and cease production of ammonia by 31 December 2019.

The closure is provisionally expected to generate costs of approximately USD 25 million which will be classified as a special item in Yara’s fourth-quarter 2019 results. The book value of the plant is zero, following several historical asset impairments.