Oman India Fertiliser Co (Omifco) is looking at expanding the capacity of its plant in Sur by adding a third production stream with an estimated investment of around US$1bn.
Omifco is owned 50 per cent by Oman Oil Co, 25 per cent by Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) and 25 per cent by Krishak Bharati Cooperative Ltd (KRIBHCO). The company was established in 2005 by a joint initiative between the governments of Oman and India, with an aim to construct, own and operate a world-scale two-train ammonia-urea fertiliser manufacturing plant in Sur.
Speaking to Muscat Daily recently, Rakesh Kapur, joint managing director of IFFCO and board member at Omifco, said, “Matters related to expanding the capacity are being examined by us seriously. Earlier this year Omifco initiated a feasibility study for the expansion project. The study is likely to be completed before the end of this year. But much would depend on availability of natural gas, which is a key raw material for producing ammonia-based fertiliser.”
He said, “We would certainly look at expanding the capacity of this plant. This could be either through bottleneck capacity increase of the existing plant or if gas is available, we could even set up a third stream of ammonia-urea production line.”
Kapur added that following the successful initiation of gas production at Khazzan project, there is a possibility of additional gas availability.
He further said that setting up an additional stream or train would effectively mean an additional capacity to produce around 1.3mn tonnes of urea per annum. Omifco currently has two identical trains with total production capacity of around 1.6mn tonnes of urea per annum.
Kapur said the total investment needed to set up an additional stream would be around US$1bn, adding that arranging funds for such a project won’t be difficult. “Looking at the operational capabilities and demand outlook for urea, I don’t think raising money will ever be an issue.”
He said the availability of natural gas for expansion is still an issue and discussions between the Omani government and Omifco are going on over the issue of gas supply. “If gas is made available to us, we have no problem in increasing the capacity.”
© Apex Press and Publishing Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
