Plants: Courtright, Ontario

161 Bickford Line
Courtright, Ontario N0N 1H0, Canada
Phone: 519-867-2739

The Courtright site is located on 700 acres south of Sarnia in St. Clair Township and close to the St. Clair River. This facility has produced a full line of nitrogen fertilizers and industrial products since start-up in 1966. It serves agricultural and industrial customers throughout eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Current annual production is 1.0 million tons, with 150 employees operating the plants continuously. Two-thirds of the facility’s output now goes to industrial and environmental customers, making the Courtright site the company’s main supplier to TET customers.

The Courtright facility is an integrated system of plants based on a world-scale ammonia unit. In downstream plants, much of the ammonia is upgraded to produce nitric acid, ammonium nitrate and urea. These products are further upgraded to make UAN solution and granular urea. In addition to agricultural purposes, the plant’s products are also used in the mining industry, and to make pulp, paper, explosives, resins, textiles and other products. Having both agricultural and industrial customers is a key advantage for Courtright.

At the heart of the Courtright operation is the Ammonia II plant, which came on stream in 1985, replacing the original Kellogg plant. Using the latest energy-saving technology, this unit produces 1,300 tons of anhydrous ammonia per day from natural gas, air and water. Process control of the ammonia plant is based on a digital control system with plant computers providing information displays and control functions.

The urea plant was revamped in 1995 to a design from Urea Casale of Switzerland. The original two urea plants of 1966 and 1979 vintage were combined to create a single unit capable of producing 750 tons/day of urea. The urea can then be granulated in two granulation plants, pumped to the UAN plant to make UAN solution or blended with demineralized water to make a range of urea solutions. Nitric acid and ammonium nitrate are also manufactured in Courtright, so that UAN can be produced. Nitric acid and ammonia solutions (aqua ammonia) are also sold to some industrial customers.

Most products leave the site either by rail or by truck and go to customers throughout southwestern Ontario and the northeastern United States. The Courtright site supplies two customers-Ontario Power Generation and Greenfield Energy Centre-by pipeline.

Please click here to view TRA 2010 Public Summary Report on the company's Courtright Nitrogen Complex.

Toxic Reduction Plan Summary Document – All Toxics 2012 (PDF)