Apache to Buy 65% Interest in Burrup Fertilisers Plant in Western Australia ...
/PRNewswire/ -- Apache Corporation (NYSE and Nasdaq: APA) today announced that it will acquire a 65-percent interest in Burrup Holdings Limited and plans to proceed with development of a technical ammonium nitrate (TAN) plant in the Burrup Peninsula region of Western Australia to be developed by a consortium including Burrup Holdings Limited.Apache said it is also negotiating to sell most of its interest in the TAN project to Orica, an Australia-based global supplier of mining explosives.
Apache has supplied natural gas to Burrup Fertilisers since the plant commenced production in 2006. With a production capacity of 760,000 metric tons annually, the plant is one of the world's largest ammonia production facilities, producing 6 percent of the total world output of tradable ammonia.
"After a year of significant turmoil surrounding the Burrup plant ownership, Apache decided to make this investment in order to stabilize the project and secure a long-term economically viable market for our natural gas production in Western Australia," said G. Steven Farris, Apache's chairman and chief executive officer. "We do not plan to operate the facility; we will rely on those with extensive experience in this sector."
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