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Red potash is stored in a warehouse at Nutrien’s Cory Potash mine in February 2025.Matt Smith/The Globe and Mail
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.
The terminal will lead to 432 direct jobs and a total of 1,082 indirect and induced jobs in the county where Longview is located, according to an economic analysis commissioned by the port.
Earlier, Nutrien was considering Canadian sites, which could have included the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert for the expansion. But the site logistics of the Port of Longview made it the top choice, chief commercial officer Chris Reynolds told The Globe last year. The decision came down to economics and a series of factors.
But the decision quickly became political. To counter U.S. tariffs, the Carney government has embarked on an ambitious trade diversification strategy that pledges to double non-U.S. exports by 2030, incentivize investment in port infrastructure, and increase Canada’s mining economy and exports of critical minerals.
In July, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon announced Ottawa was adding the Port of Vancouver growth plan to the Major Projects Office. The port’s plan includes a revamped export terminal in Richmond, B.C., which the minister said would make a viable terminus for a commodity like potash.
Nutrien ships potash from six mines across Saskatchewan to terminals in North Vancouver, Saint John, N.B., and Portland, Ore. The largest is Vancouver, with an operational capacity of 10 million tonnes.
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The lease term with Port of Longview is 50 years with the potential to extend an additional 30.
The port will spend US$110-million on developing the berth for Nutrien’s terminal, some of which will be upfront funding from Nutrien that will be paid back through credit on future cargo fees.
Development at the berth includes new marine loading equipment, handling and conveyance systems, a storage facility and infrastructure for receiving rail.
The Port of Longview has been working on the redevelopment of its fourth berth for over a decade.
Timothy Meyer, the port’s director of project delivery, said in the presentation that Longview is excited Nutrien is “considering this sizable investment.”