Carbamide plant may export via BTK railway
By Leman Mammadova
Azerbaijan has already entered into the international fertilizers market, as the country has launched the export of carbamide products.
SOCAR Carbamide Plant has started exporting its products, Khayal Jafarov, head of the enterprise, told journalists.
In his words, so far, the plant has produced 60,000 tons of products, and 30,000 tons of this amount was acquired by the Swiss trading company Integral through a tender. A batch of 15,000 tons has already been shipped and its largest part went to Turkey.
In addition, a small volume of 1,000 tons of products was exported to Ukraine, and about 1,200 tons were sold in the domestic market.
Jafarov stressed that products are shipped through the Volga-Don Canal and the Black Sea, as well as by road transportation to the ports of Georgia and Turkey, adding that in the future, export can be carried out by Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway.
The next tender for the sale of the same volume of 30,000 tons will be announced until the end of the month.
He added that Agroleasing OJSC is expected to be the main buyer of carbamide in the domestic market.
Jafarov also noted that commissioning works were fully completed at the plant and at present, the company’s acceptance procedure between SOCAR and the general contractor Samsung Engineering is underway.
SOCAR Carbamide Plant, built on the territory of the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park, was commissioned on January 16.
The total cost of the plant is 780 million euros. Some 197 million euros was allocated from the state budget, Kexim Bank allocated 251 million euros, Societe Generale (France), Deutsche Bank (Germany) and UniCredit (Austria) allocated 249 million euros, while SOCAR allocated 80-85 million euros.
The production at the SOCAR Carbamide Plant will eliminate the need for import of nitrogen fertilizers, thereby the country's foreign currency spending will decrease. By using 435 million cubic meters of natural gas as a raw material, the plant is capable of producing 650,000-660,000 tons of carbamide.
Moreover, 70 percent of the production is envisaged for export, which will enable Azerbaijan to receive additional income worth up to $160 million annually. Carbamide fertilizers have the highest nitrogen content; therefore, they are considered the highest quality nitrogen fertilizer.
The demand for carbamide is connected with its low cost, economical transportation, and convenient use, which contributes to high yields in agriculture. This product is also widely used in the production of other chemicals and pharmaceutics.
Presently, SOCAR Carbamide Plant is the biggest project in the country implemented in the non-oil sector. The South Korean company Samsung Engineering provided engineering, procurement, construction and pre-commissioning services for the plant.
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Leman Mammadova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @leman_888
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