NITROFOSFOR:  Chemical plants don"t have sufficient gas to continue production

Fertilizer industry is facing a new issue in the beginning of the year, - lack of domestically produced gas needed for fertilizer production, producers say. "Chemical fertilizer plants don"t have enough to help them function at maximum capacity", said Marian Milea, the president of the national professional association Nitrofosfor.

The head of Nitrofosfor said, that right now, six of the chemical fertilizer plants which belong to the association, ,only four are operational, and only three at full capacity. The reason for the shortage of domestically produced gas is the fact that last autumn, the government increased the number of beneficiaries of domestically produced gas.

Marian Milea said: "The measure was initially taken this summer, and the facility was granted to units that consume a minimum of 30,000 cubic meters per hour. However, starting in autumn, the government extended the period for the applicability of this measure, while at the same time increasing the number of beneficiaries. So at the moment, companies that consume a minimum of 5,000 cubic meters an hour now qualify for this measure as well. Under these circumstances, domestically produced gas can not reach all consumers. This is why we do not have enough gas to operate".

The chairman of Nitrofosfor said that he forwarded a statement on this matter to the minister of Economy, Adriean Videanu. By October 30, 2010, major gas consumers have the option to acquire domestically produced gas, which would help companies save close to 1 billion lei, (given the difference between the price of domestic gas and the price of imported gas).

"We have asked the minister to extend the USD 40/ 1,000 cubic meters discount for acquiring natural gas produced domestically until the end of 2010", Mr. Milea added.

In turn, Ioan Cezar Corâci, the chairman of the Federation Of Professional Associations in the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry ("FEPACHIM"), considers that this problem would need to be solved as soon as possible by the Government, given the needs of the agricultural sector. "The lack of gas for fertilizer plants is a problem that the Government needs to solve by all means, because without chemical fertilizer, the Romanian agriculture will go to waste", Corâci said.

The head of FEPACHIM warned that if fertilizer companies will lack natural gas to function, this would cause massive layoffs among their workers.

The leaders of the Federation of Free Unions in the Chemical And Petrochemical Industry (FSLCP) said that even though gas consumption in the sector dropped during winter, but stressed that there is no question of layoffs in the industry for now.