BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The carbamide plant of Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR has reached its full production capacity after Samsung, the general contractor resolved the problems hindering the plant’s operation at 100 percent capacity, Trend reports with reference to SOCAR.
The plant has produced 120,500 tons in 2.5 months, selling it abroad and domestically, thereby covering the country’s demand. Carbamide is sold to farmers in the domestic market at a discount price of 420 manat per ton, while the export price is $415-420 per ton.
Retuning back to problems at the plant, the testing and adjustment works carried out by Samsung after the commissioning in January 2019 revealed that malfunctions in some units of the plant were not allowing it to operate at full capacity. The visit of representatives of producer companies to Azerbaijan to repair those units was cancelled in 2020 due to the restriction caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Second Karabakh War. Ultimately, the repair works were carried out from January through April 2021 and the plant resumed its operation in late April. The cost of repair works is covered by the guarantee of the general contractor.
The World Bank (WB) has forecasted an increase in carbamide production in Azerbaijan. Carbamide production in Azerbaijan is expected to grow in the next few years, the WB report said.
According to the bank's forecasts, prices for the product will grow by 31 percent in 2021 and decrease by eight percent in 2022 compared to the current year.
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