Ammonia plant at Dakota Gas beats long-standing production record

Investments into equipment are proving valuable in the ammonia plant at Dakota Gasification Company.

Dale Johnson, Basin Electric senior vice president and plant manager at Dakota Gas, said in April, the ammonia plant had the highest monthly capacity factor in the plant’s history at 107.25%, surpassing the last record set in May 2023 which was 105.74%. “This month was a fantastic example in the ammonia plant. We had production records, a monthly production record, and a daily production record in that unit,” he said.

The ammonia plant’s record daily anhydrous ammonia production occurred on April 20; the plant produced 1,226.6 tons of ammonia. In fact, there were seven days of production in April that beat the record last set in February 2001, when the ammonia plant produced 1,202.1 tons.

Johnson said the record is a testament to the dedication of operations and maintenance staff along with the capital investments that have been made in the fertilizer areas in the past decade culminating in the black plant turnaround in 2023. “We’ve invested in compression, equipment upgrades, and control system improvements in the ammonia plant and urea areas. And again, fertilizers are in high demand and generate very good profits, and so those investments are paying off in terms of revenue,” he said.