Doha: The fifth production train of Qatar Fertilizer Company (Qafco-5) to be built at an estimated cost of $ 600m will boost the company's ammonia production by 55 per cent to 3.1m metric tonnes (MT) per annum and urea production by 40 per cent to 4m MT annually.
Qafco is a joint venture between Industries Qatar (75 per cent) and Yara International (25 per cent). Currently the combined production capacity of the four integrated production lines is two million MT of ammonia and 2.8 million MT of urea.
The planned expansion consisting of ammonia and urea plants both with a daily production capacity of 3,500 MT and a number of support utilities is scheduled for completion in 2010.
This was stated by Khalifa Abbdullah Al Suwaidi, Qafco General Manager recently, noting that the expansion will add 1.1m MT of ammonia and 1.1m MT of urea to the company's annual production capacity.
Al Suwaidi said a letter of intents has been signed between Qatar Petroleum (QP), Yara International and Qafco for the construction of Qafco-5 and that the project is set to mark a quantum leap in terms of production volume as well as technology.
"We realize the need to adapt to constantly changing conditions, invest these variables to enhance our production capacity and reinforce Qafco's position as a key player in the international fertilizer market and maximize our shareholders' earnings," he said.
Meanwhile, the profit generated by the Urea Formaldehyde-85 (UFC-85) plant whose operations are run by Qafco is predicted to reach QR11,917m by the end of this year.
The total production of the UFC-85 plant by the year end is estimated at 29,668 MT, topping the target by 3.8 per cent and last year's figure by 21.2 per cent, making QAFCO self-sufficient in UFC-85, which used to be imported abroad.
Out of the total production, about 19,000 MT of urea formaldehyde will be used by Qafco plants, while the surplus will be shipped by tanker trucks to importers in neighboring countries.
UFC-85 is an anti-caking agent with which urea is treated to prevent limping, improve the product hardness and ensure its free flowing. It also has several other industrial uses.
The UFC-85 plant is owned by Gulf Formaldehyde Company (GFC), a joint venture between Qafco with 70pc stake, Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (Qimco) with 15pc, United Development Company (UDC) with 10pc and Amwal with 5pc.
© The Peninsula 2005
