Tringen I's maintenance shutdown deferred to August

Tringen I’s temporary maintenance shutdown, initially scheduled to begin on Tuesday, has been deferred to August to accommodate “new opportunities for competitive export in July.”

According to a release issued Monday by Tringen’s minority partner Yara, the company also has an opportunity “to optimise preparation for the planned maintenance work.” The release did not elaborate on the export opportunity. Yara did not immediately respond to Newsday’s request for clarification.

In a release last Friday, July 3, Yara said then that Tringen I would stop producing ammonia “due to current market conditions.” "The covid19 global crisis has put ammonia markets under significant pressure due to a reduction in industrial ammonia demand.

The competitiveness of ammonia produced by Tringen has also been impacted due to a fall in natural gas prices paid by competing ammonia producers in major markets," Yara said.

Last December, Yara shuttered its wholly-owned Yara Trinidad plant, the smallest of the three plants it operates in Pt Lisas – and then the oldest plant in operation on the estate. There has been no word on the fate of Tringen II.

Yara holds a 49 per cent stake in Tringen, while the State, through National Enterprises Ltd (NEL) owns 51 per cent.

There are currently about eight plants on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate that have had to idle operations. Among the concerns from the industry has been unreliable or low feedstock because of natural gas curtailment; the high cost of natural gas, making production uncompetitive; and low petrochemical market prices exacerbated by an oversupply of product and weak demand.