Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions). Our first question comes from the line of Edward Yang with Oppenheimer.
Edward Yang - Oppenheimer
Randy, you mentioned building greater flexibility into your business model. Obviously, there is a gap between acid prices and your own rock costs. At this point, how much do you produce your own acid needs internally and how much can you adjust that to take advantage of the gap between your rock costs and market acid prices?
Randy Gress
As far as what we produce on the purified acid basis, in Mexico we produce all of our purified acid needs. What I'm talking about there is some of the flexibility that we have to use merchant green acid, where we could bring that into the operation versus sourcing of rock.
Right now, we're still sourcing 100% of our rock with the supply from OCP, but do have the flexibility across our entire network to shift purified acid to support the needs across the entire business. Then, in the US, we do have a mix of what we produce at our Geismar operation and what we purchase on top of that. We produce most of the acid at Geismar.
Edward Yang - Oppenheimer
Do you nominate your rock volumes from OCP quarterly or annually, and is there a minimum commitment for volumes for 2009?
Randy Gress
Right now there is a quarterly nomination for 2009 and it's based on what our needs are. No minimum.
Edward Yang - Oppenheimer
There's no minimum? Okay. Thank you.
Operator
Our next question comes from the line of Christopher Butler with Sidoti & Company.
Christopher Butler - Sidoti & Company
You had mentioned that the run up and run down in rock prices was unprecedented, yet you're still moving forward with this plan to further integrate into rock. In some ways, are we spending capital to prepare for the 100-year storm right after it happened, or has there been some sort of shift in the marketplace that makes you think that more volatility is in our future?
Randy Gress
What we have here with the concessions is what we've seen as an opportunity to take a look at how we could increase our flexibility here where the government made this available and we jumped on it. I think what it does give us, where we do have some knowledge, is a chance here to explore and increase the flexibility and leverage for our overall supply at the site.
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