Dakota Gas shifts carbon dioxide sales to fulfill supply shortage

The Great Plains Synfuels Plant produces carbon dioxide (CO₂) that is sent through a pipeline up to Canada, and also gets used to make ammonium sulfate fertilizer. Recently, the Synfuels Plant sent higher volumes of its CO₂ to a Canadian customer that needed more. The customer began having supply problems in late December, and the Synfuels Plant fulfilled its needs through mid-February.

To meet this increase in demand, the Synfuels Plant shifted some CO₂ used in the production of ammonium sulfate to send up the pipeline instead.

“When requests like this come up, it’s important to manage expectations and not sell beyond capacity,” said Zach Jacobson, manager of Dakota Gas marketing and sales. “On the fertilizer side, sometimes we sell products out several months into the future, and that’s based on the buying habits for that time of year or that season. Luckily this request came during one of the slower times for fertilizer shipments, so we were able to fulfill this company’s needs.”

Having the flexibility to quickly shift production from one product to another is one of the benefits of the Synfuels Plant.

“Having additional capacity to meet customer demands is extremely valuable, and it ended up being more profitable than it would have been otherwise. Having multiple applications for both products helps us accommodate flexibility to take advantage of market anomalies,” Jacobson said.

As of Feb. 22, the Synfuels Plant was once again sending its typical CO₂ flows to Canada.