LSB Industries To Start Fertilizer Plant

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — LSB Industries Inc., which makes heat pumps and chemical products, said Friday it will begin manufacturing fertilizer at an Oklahoma plant this year after finding a buyer for the product.

LSB's subsidiary, Pryor Chemical Co., has signed a five-year agreement to sell the urea ammonium nitrate to Koch Nitrogen Co. LLC. Terms were not disclosed but either company can opt to terminate the pact after August 2010.

LSB plans to produce about 325,000 tons of urea ammonium nitrate and 35,000 tons of anhydrous ammonia annually at the plant in Pryor, about 140 miles northeast of Oklahoma City. The goal is to start production in the third quarter.

LSB said Koch Nitrogen, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc., agreed to buy substantially all of the fertilizer produced in Pryor.

Shares of LSB rose 46 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $11.41 in afternoon trading.