SOCAR Carbamide Plant to operate at full capacity starting March

January 23, 2019 17:54

Baku. 23 January. REPORT.AZ/ SOCAR Carbamide Plant in Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park will operate at full capacity starting in March, Director of the Plant Khayal Jafarov told Report.

"The Carbamide Plant will start operating at full capacity in March, which will create an opportunity for exporting production. But, first of all, the internal demand will be satisfied," the plant director said.

As to him, there is a plan to export 500,000 tonnes of carbamide per year, with the major portion to be supplied to Turkey: "Turkey is currently one of the biggest importers of nitrogen fertilizers. Moreover, the companies from the Black Sea countries, especially Ukraine and other countries, are also in need of carbamide."

Jafarov noted that the export will be carried both by trucks and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway line. According to him, the new railway line (800 m), which is planned to be connected with the BTK, is under construction and expected to be completed within six months: "Once the line is put into operation, carbamide will be exported by railway. First, the export will be carried by high-tonnage vehicles. But because of the huge volumes of transportation and the cost-effectiveness of the railroad, the preference will given to this route," Jafarov said.

As for the price of carbamide, the director noted that the price in the Black Sea market ranges from $320 to 350 per tonne: "We expect a rise in these prices, which have declined compared to five years ago. It is caused by a large volume of supplies in the market because of construction of carbamide plants. But we believe that the supply will decline and promote a price surge."

SOCAR Carbamide constructed in the area of the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Plant was launched on January 16.

The plant is capable of producing 650-660,000 tonnes of carbamide per year by consuming 435,000,000 cubic meters of natural gas as crude.

70% of production is intended for export which will bring an extra $160 million in income per year.