Jamuna Fertiliser Co. Ltd., a unit of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corp. (BCIC), on Sept. 5 indefinitely closed its urea plant due to a gas shortage, according to The Business Standard.
BCIC opted instead to use the gas going to Jamuna at the newly built Ghorashal-Polash Urea Fertilizer Project (GPUFP), which is starting trial production with full commercial production of 2,800 mt/d expected by the end of the year (GM April 21, p. 30), the newspaper reported.
The Jamuna plant began production in December 1991 (GM Jan. 20, 1992), producing some 1,700 mt/d at that time. It was the country’s largest urea plant. GPUFP will now take that title.
In addition to Jamuna, BCIC has closed two other plants due to the shortage of gas – the Chittagong Urea Fertiliser Ltd. (CFUL) in November 2022 and the Ashuganj Fertilizer and Chemical Co Ltd. (AFCCL) in April 2023, according to the newspaper. This will leave BCIC with only two plants in operation – GPUFP and the Shahjalal Fertiliser Co. Ltd. There is concern that the BCIC will not meet its urea production goals with only two plants.
The multinationally-owned, export-oriented Karnafuli Fertilizer Co. (KAFCO) urea plant reportedly still receives gas and remains in production.