Baku, Azerbaijan, March 14
By Sara Israfilbayova – Trend:
The commissioning of the SOCAR Carbamide Plant in Azerbaijan contributes to the country’s sustainable development, Rovnag Abdullayev, president of the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR, said.
Abdullayev made the remarks in Baku at the international conference "Argus Fertilizers 2019 - Production and Logistics in the Caspian and Black Sea Region", Trend reports on March 14.
"Besides SOCAR implements various energy projects both in Azerbaijan and in the region, the company also supports the development of the country’s non-oil sector," Abdullayev added.
“One of such steps is the construction of a carbamide plant in Azerbaijan,” he said. “Earlier, $80-90 million were spent on import of fertilizers every year, but now there is no need for that.”
He stressed that some fertilizers will be exported as the production capacity of the plant is by several times more than the domestic demand for carbamide.
He added that ten years ago it was difficult to assume that Azerbaijan would act as a producer of fertilizers.
Abdullayev said that SOCAR plays an important role not only for the Azerbaijani energy market, but also for the market of the entire region.
Speaking about the company's activity, Abdullayev stressed that SOCAR is already a global company.
"We sold only products produced in Azerbaijan in 2018,” he said. “Presently, the products of foreign companies have a special place in the company's trade portfolio. This trade brings more profit. Thus, the company earned 90 percent of its profit in foreign markets."
The SOCAR Carbamide Plant, built on the territory of the Sumgait chemical industrial park, was commissioned on January 16.
The beginning of production at the SOCAR Carbamide Plant will eliminate the need to import nitrogen fertilizers, thereby the country's foreign currency expenditure will be reduced.
While using 435 million cubic meters of natural gas as raw materials, the plant is capable of producing 650,000-660,000 tons of carbamide products.
About 70 percent of the production volume accounts for export. This will enable the country to receive additional income worth up to $160 million annually. The commissioning of this plant will play an important role in the development of agriculture in Azerbaijan.
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, convenient use, which contributes to high yields in agriculture. This product is also widely used in the production of other chemicals and pharmaceutics.
Presently, the SOCAR Carbamide Plant is the biggest project in the country, implemented in the non-oil sector, its total cost is about 800 million euros.
The project was initially financed through the funds allocated from the state budget. During the construction of the plant, a number of international banks allocated funds in the amount of 500 million euros through the state guarantees.
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