Geismar completes turnaround project
Published: Jul 10, 2023
Nutrien successfully completed a turnaround at its Geismar, Louisiana nitrogen facility. This planned activity occurs every four-to-five years to conduct regular preventative maintenance and inspections on equipment, maximize operational efficiency and to implement capital projects that cannot be accomplished while the plant is operating.
Boost to local economy
The turnaround created 1,400 short-term contractor jobs which provided a boost to the local economy on many fronts – including increased hotel stays, restaurant meals and other necessities. The site also tapped into local industrial businesses such as machine shops, equipment repair services, cranes and rental equipment for turnaround activities.
“Our purpose is feeding the future, and turnarounds like this enable us to keep our facility running reliably so that we can continue to produce a wide variety of products that are essential to daily life,” said Richard Holder, General Manager at Geismar. I want to thank all of our employees and contractors for their diligence and dedication which enabled us to complete the turnaround successfully.”
The turnaround also included a safety instrumentation upgrade, as well as production efficiencies that will result in less natural gas consumption, which reduces GHG emissions. “Geismar also completed an additional abatement project on our highest production nitric acid manufacturing unit, which is expected to reduce CO2e emissions by approximately 200,000 tonnes per year as a result of equipment added during this turnaround,” added Holder.
Safety first
With the influx of people on site conducting complex activities, safety was the site’s top priority. Through methodical preparation and ongoing training that focused on caring and looking out for each other for safe work, Geismar maintained an injury-free environment that enabled it to reach its goal of everyone getting home safe, every day, even with site personnel and contractors completing over 800,000 hours of work during the turnaround.
Thank-you to our neighbors
While the turnaround was good for local businesses, it also brought increased traffic. “Residents in our area are no stranger when it comes to industry turnarounds. One of the ways we mitigated that was by hiring off-duty police officers to safely ease the flow of traffic. We greatly appreciated the community’s patience and support while we performed this important work,” added Holder.
About Geismar
The Geismar facility began operations more than 50 years ago and employs more than 300 full-time employees and contractors who work to safely produce ammonia, nitric acid, urea, diesel emission fluid and UAN liquid fertilizer. These products are used in agriculture, industrial applications and for pollution control.
As an active community member, Geismar’s priorities are supporting the areas where we operate, focusing on Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (EDI), food security, community resilience, and environmental stewardship. Through our community investment program over the past two years, Nutrien has provided more than $350,000 towards EDI-focused scholarships at Louisiana State University, River Parishes Community College, Southern University, a historically Black College (HBCU) as well as local high schools. Nutrien also supports youth leadership, financial literacy, and work readiness skills through groups such as Junior Achievement. This year, we also partnered with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank with a $600,000 contribution to help fight hunger and build food security in Iberville and Ascension Parishes.