Canpotex eyeing 2016 decision on export terminal options

The new CEO of the potash giant Canpotex is saying a few things these days that residents of the North Coast might be interested in learning more about.

With recent comments from CEO Ken Seitz indicating that some kind of announcement related to the company plans for its export terminal options may be delivered in 2016.

In an interview with Reuters News service, Seitz notes that the company is always looking for ways to avoid shipment bottlenecks of Potash from Saskatchewan to world markets.

Reports from Saskatchewan
indicate that Canpotex will
be making investment decisions on
export terminal requirements
sometime in late 2016

One option that the company could be considering is the proposed Prince Rupert Terminal, that much discussed project for Ridley Island has been on the radar for Prince Rupert civic officials for a number of years.

However, to this point, the farthest the development plans seem to have move forward, consists of a feasibility study and a placeholder on the map of the Ridley Island area.

Another possibility that the company may look at could be through the expansion of the current infrastructure in place in the Vancouver area, or possibly a shift towards further expansion of facilities in Portland, Oregon.

The Canpotex CEO says that his company will be looking to close in on a decision sometime in the next six months, with the potential for an announcement sometime late in 2016.

"We never want ports to be the bottleneck, so we need sufficient capacity," ... "If we take a long-term view, we believe that to properly position ourselves, we'll need more port capacity somewhere." -- New Canpotex CEO Ken Seitz on the prospect
of Terminal development moving forward in 2016

Still, while that might offer up a bit of optimism for Prince Rupert when it comes to the much delayed decision on the industrial development for the region, there are still many external forces that could again provide for a pause.

High among them the current state of the world potash market which has seen the price for the product decline in recent years. A situation which has seen potash suppliers in Saskatchewan begin to lay off workers in the mines in that province.

On the more positive side of the news cycle on potash, Canpotex is currently involved with negotiations with Chinese customers, something which could provide for a new floor for pricing, making investment decisions a little more solid for the Saskatchewan based company.

You can examine the interview with Reuters here.

For more background on items related to Canpotex see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review