Borealis Considers U.S. Fertilizer Plant

Borealis and Agrifos Partners are planning to develop a nitrogen fertilizer project, somewhere on the Texas Gulf Coast, through a joint venture called Gulf Coast Ammonia. The companies aren’t detailing the project other than to say it will be of “world scale” and start up in 2019. Borealis says it will take a significant equity stake in the project and sign an offtake agreement to buy 40% of its output. The Austrian chemical maker wants to expand its nitrogen-fertilizer-based products capacity to 10 million metric tons per year while also tapping into low-cost U.S. shale gas.