The Minister said the country desperately needs another urea fertiliser plant to avoid import of urea after 2013. "At the moment we are self-sufficient till 2013 in urea production provided gas is supplied to fertiliser plants. Another urea fertiliser production plant must be operational by 2014 to avoid huge foreign exchange expenditure on urea import," Bijarani added. The country's present urea plants are facing 20 per cent curtailment in feed gas due to which the government is importing 0.225 million tons of urea.
Official sources told South Punjab news that Petroleum Ministry conveyed to MoI&P on several occasions that it cannot give any firm guarantee of gas availability for urea plants until gas is imported. On the other hand Ministry of Food and Agriculture (Minfa) and MoI&P are taking up this issue at different fora in an effort to ensure that there is no gas shortage for urea plants in years to come.
The German company's representative Lothar Jungemann presented a profile book to the Minister. The company delegation also discussed various aspects and possibilities for the establishment of a fertiliser plant in Kuwait. The delegation told the Minister that cost of fertiliser production in Kuwait could be cheaper and Pakistan has to bear transportation charges only.
"We have suggested to the Minister for Industries and Production that the company is ready to establish urea plant in Kuwait or Qatar due to feed gas availability. The plant will be dedicated to Pakistan," said a Pakistani representative of the company Asad Ullah Kazmi. The Minister welcomed the proposal and said any investment proposal submitted to the government would be discussed in detail. "If a proposal is viable, then it would be submitted to the federal cabinet for formal approval," Bijarani added.
Sources in the Ministry of Water and Power told Business Recorder that 20 per cent curtailment in feed gas to the urea plants will continue this season so that fuel demands of the energy sector can be met. Urea fertiliser plants are exerting pressure to restore full feed gas supply but their efforts have remained fruitless to date.This thorny issue is expected to be discussed in detail at the Energy Summit to be presided over by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani. Both the Ministry of Water and Power and Ministry of Industries and Production are preparing working papers to plead their cases at the Summit. The government has imported 100,000 MT of urea through open tender and 130,000 MT through Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).TCP has sent a reference to Economic Affairs Division (EAD) stating that Saudi Fund Development (SFD) credit facility of $100 million caters for approximately 250,000 metric tons of urea from SABIC. Under the ECC decision, the import from SABIC has been restricted to 125,000 MT, accordingly 100,000 MT has been imported through tender by the TCP.
