Date:18/04/2007 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/04/18/stories/2007041805040200.htm

Back RCF hopeful of meeting gas supply shortage

Our Bureau

Mumbai April 17 Rashtriya Chemical & Fertilizers Ltd (RCF) is hopeful of partly meeting the current shortage in gas supply.

The shortage now works out to 10 million cubic metres per day for the company's existing gas-based plants.

Mr Uday Shankar Jha, Chairman and Managing Director, told newspersons that the situation would slightly improve as the company would source LNG from the Uran-Dahej pipeline by August for its Trombay facility, and by March 2008 for its Thal facility. Around 40 million tonnes of gas will be sourced through Reliance Industries' Krishna-Godavari facilities in two to three years' time. This will result in production of seven million tonnes of urea, leading to expansion and revival of the existing capacity, Mr Jha added.

On pricing, he said, "Gas pricing is a little critical. What it will be is not decided yet."

Mr Jha also said that negotiations are on within the concerned government departments over the availability of gas for fertiliser companies.

On the question of priority being given to the power sector over fertiliser when it came to gas, Mr Jha said, "At the moment there is equal priority for both power and fertilisers as per a Supreme Court judgment. But... we are making full use of the chemical part of the gas, whereas in power sector the carbon dioxide is rejected." He added that in the Eleventh Plan too, the proposal is that more gas should be available for the fertilizer sector.