Global fertilizer giant Nutrien is initiating a full shutdown of its Trinidad nitrogen facility, effective October 23, 2025, citing crippling challenges from port access restrictions and an unreliable, uneconomical natural gas supply.
Nutrien Ltd., a world leader in agricultural solutions, announced the commencement of a controlled shutdown of its entire Trinidad Nitrogen operations at the Point Lisas facility, with production ceasing on October 23, 2025. This decisive action is a direct response to persistent operational headwinds, specifically naming port access restrictions imposed by Trinidad and Tobago's National Energy Corporation (NEC) and the lack of a reliable, economically viable supply of natural gas, the critical feedstock for nitrogen fertilizer production.
The decision reflects a strategic re-evaluation of the company's global production portfolio, prioritizing assets that offer stable and cost-effective input logistics. Nutrien’s Trinidad operations contributed approximately 85,000 metric tons of ammonia and 55,000 metric tons of urea to monthly sales volumes. Despite this significant loss of capacity, the company asserts confidence in maintaining its previously announced 2025 annual nitrogen sales volume guidance of $10.7$ million to $11.2$ million metric tons. This confidence is attributed to the "continued strong performance" of its North American assets, which are now poised to absorb the production shortfall.
The closure of the Point Lisas facility represents the culmination of a long-standing struggle with the economic viability of the Caribbean operations, which has seen previous curtailments. In the past, Nutrien had temporarily idled plants due to weak market conditions and declining global ammonia prices.
The cessation of Nutrien's output is poised to tighten the global nitrogen fertilizer supply, creating a significant ripple effect across the market. Other major global and North American nitrogen producers, such as CF Industries Holdings, Inc, Yara International ASA, and OCI N.V., are well-positioned to potentially benefit. These companies could capture market share and see increased demand for their ammonia and urea products. The cost advantage held by U.S.-based producers, stemming from abundant and relatively cheap domestic natural gas, is further reinforced by Nutrien’s strategic withdrawal from the gas-constrained region.
Nutrien has stated it will continue engaging with stakeholders to assess future options for the Trinidad assets, including potential restart scenarios, but a successful resumption would require resolving the fundamental economic and infrastructure challenges cited in the closure.
