Nutrien moves closer to deal to export potash from Washington terminal

Detailed summary

Port expected to make a decision on the non-binding agreement later this month

Saskatchewan fertilizer giant Nutrien Ltd. is taking a significant step closer to a potash-export investment at the Port of Longview, Wash., that could reach US$1-billion.

Nutrien and Longview staff presented a development plan and commercial terms of a lease to the port’s board of commissioners, at the Washington port on Tuesday. The move marks a “step toward the next milestone in the terminal’s redevelopment,” according to a post on the port’s website.

The board will make a decision about whether to sign the lease and development agreement later this month, Longview said. The private investment by Nutrien will be between US$500-million and US$1-billion.

The agreement is a “procedural step” in advancing the project that is not binding, Nutrien spokesperson Simon Scott said in a statement to The Globe and Mail. The company will make the final investment decision in 2028, after the port has conducted more work on the site.

Nutrien, the world’s largest potash producer, announced plans in 2025 to build a new export terminal on the Pacific coast. The commodity is Canada’s fifth largest export.

Nutrien was considering Canadian ports but selected the Port of Longview as its preferred site in November last year. Its decision was cast as a political failure of the Carney government, which has tried to get the company to change its mind.

“The project would strengthen our West Coast export network and support the reliable movement of Canadian potash to global markets,” Mr. Scott said.

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When construction in Washington is completed – slated for as early as 2032 – the terminal would annually export between five and eight million tonnes of potash, a fertilizer used in agriculture worldwide. The potash to be exported from Longview is mined in Saskatchewan and will ship to fast-growing agricultural markets in the Indo-Pacific, including China, India and Japan.

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