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Recent
Press Releases A member survey conducted this week by LAP showed seven of the ammonia units in the state are again temporarily shut down. The plants are primarily shut down due to high natural gas prices. Gas prices are currently at approximately $5 per million BTU, more than double what they were one year ago. Natural gas makes up 90 percent of the cost of making ammonia. It is used as a feedstock and an energy source in the ammonia production process. "This has been a terribly hard time for our industry, and we are very concerned about the impact of high natural gas prices during the heat this summer and the cold weather next winter," said Jim Harris, LAP spokesman. LAP does not anticipate any new layoffs as a result of this round of shutdowns. "Companies have furloughed employees to other areas of their plants to avoid layoffs," said Harris. More than 200 employees of ammonia producing facilities were laid off in the last year because of the impact of high natural gas prices on the facilities. LAP members also shut down in January of this year as natural gas prices surged from just more than $2 per million BTU in 1999 to $10 per million BTU in January. Many of the LAP member plants came back on line in February to produce ammonia and other fertilizer in anticipation of the spring crop season. LAP members report that future production hinges on the price of natural gas. "It is likely that ammonia production will continue to be reduced throughout the summer months. This is largely driven by the high cost of natural gas," Harris said. The Louisiana Ammonia Producers are a group of seven ammonia producing companies in the state. Together, they account for 40 percent of the U.S. production of ammonia. LAP members employ nearly 2,000 people and pay approximately $30 million in state and local taxes. LAP members are CF Industries in Ascension Parish, Cytec Industries in Jefferson Parish, Farmland in Grant Parish, IMC Global in St. James Parish, Koch Nitrogen in Ouachita Parish, and PCS Nitrogen and Triad Nitrogen in Ascension Parish.
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