Natural gas shortages, four urea plants are facing production suspension

According to the “Business Record” of Pakistan, reported on October 11th, four natural urea plants in Pakarab, Engro Enven, Agritech and Dawood Hercules faced a production stoppage risk due to the drastic reduction in natural gas supply. The above four urea plants have a capacity of up to 2.2 million tons, but SNGPL has significantly reduced its natural gas supply since October 1, resulting in a sharp drop in production. If natural gas is cut off, Pakistan may usher in the worst urea supply shortage in history, which will affect agricultural output.

The report said that due to the shortage of natural gas, the output of urea increased by 200 to 400 rupees per bag (50 kilograms) (US$1 to Rs 88). In the past 22 months, the price of urea per pack has risen from Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,700. According to the analysis, if the shortage of gas supply cannot be resolved, the price per urea may exceed the Rs 2000 mark.

The analysis pointed out that if severe natural gas supply has been suspended since October 1 until the end of November, Pakistan will face a shortage of 750,000 tons of urea, which will cost US$400 million to import, and the government will provide 21 billion rupees for price subsidies.