OKLAHOMA CITY, US: LSB Industries Inc said that it has appointed Daniel Greenwell, lead independent director, to serve as interim chief executive officer, as its current president and CEO, Barry Golsen has stepped down, effective immediately.
Greenwell has been a member of the LSB board of directors since 2014 and serves as chairman of the audit committee and a member of the strategic committee of the board. Golsen will remain a director of the company, LSB said.
LSB board of directors will initiate a formal search process to identify a permanent president and CEO and will retain an executive search firm to assist in the search.
“For the past 38 years, Barry has played an important role in the growth and success of the company. We are also pleased that Dan Greenwell, an experienced executive with over 20 years of industrial, financial and operational experience, will lead the company as we continue to take steps to improve the company’s performance and drive enhanced shareholder value,” said Jack Golsen, executive chairman of the board of directors, LSB.
Greenwell will remain a director of the company. Current directors William Murdy and Richard Roedel have been elected as lead independent director and audit committee chairman respectively, to replace Greenwell in those positions.
Update on Pryor, Oklahoma facility
LSB said the Pryor Oklahoma chemical facility started its annual routine maintenance to address issues on 11 July and concluded on 4 Aug. During the process of restarting the ammonia plant, Pryor’s automated monitoring systems detected several mechanical issues. The plant was restarted on 21 Aug after carrying out repairs. On 25 Aug a pipe developed a crack, causing operations at Pryor to once again be suspended. After inspection by a third party, it has been determined that the pipe repairs should be completed by 18 Sept.
LSB estimates that the periods of downtime, will reduce third quarter 2015 sales volumes of UAN and ammonia by a total of approximately 35,000 to 40,000 tonne and 5,000 to 6,000 tonne respectively, while lowering operating income by a total of approximately $8.0 million to $8.5 million, which includes lost profit, unabsorbed overhead expenses and costs of repair. Each additional day of downtime at Pryor, beyond September 18, 2015, is estimated to result in a reduction of operating income of approximately $150,000 to $200,000.
“We have been making progress towards generating more consistent performance at Pryor. However, there is always the risk that facility will experience some unplanned downtime from time to time during the next 18 months as we continue to move forward with our plant reliability and safety initiatives, which include the installation of sensors that will allow for earlier identification of mechanical issues and enhance preventative maintenance, and the implementation of advanced automation systems that will enable faster and more refined control over plant process conditions,” said Jack Golsen.
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