Yara plans $350 mn investment to expand fertiliser plant in Norway

Yara International will invest NOK 2,250 million ($ 350 million) to increase value-added fertiliser capacity in the Porsgrunn plant in Norway. The investment will increase the capacity by 50,000 tonnes of compound NPK and 200,000 tonnes of calcium nitrate annually at Porsgrunn site, which is already one of the largest fertiliser plants in the world, producing ammonia, nitric acid, NPK and calcium nitrate.
 
The investment will add 50 kilotonnes (KT) of compound NPK annual capacity and 200 KT of calcium nitrate annual capacity. In addition, the investment will enable optimisation of production in Yara's Glomfjord and Uusikaupunki sites, adding a further 150 KT of annual NPK capacity.
 
NPK and calcium nitrate are key value-added fertilisers in Yara's product portfolio, which benefit cash crops in particular.
 
Torgeir Kvidal, Acting CEO and President of Yara, said, “This investment confirms Yara's ambition to create value through brownfield expansions and debottlenecking projects. Furthermore it strengthens our position as the global NPK leader and shows our dedication to provide farmers with premium products and agronomic competence to increase agricultural productivity.”
 
The project includes a new-build nitric acid plant and innovative technology application, which further bring down greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency and reduce waste.
 
“Construction will start immediately and the expansion is expected to be finalised in 2017,” added the Yara press release.