May 25, 2012
Arab States' council urea production to rise 40%
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf's (GCC) fertiliser industry is planning major expansions to raise its urea production up to 40% in the next four years, said Abdulwahab Al Sadoun, Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA).
Abdulwahab said Qatar would be the key enabler behind this expansion plans.
"Currently, Qatar is producing 3.5 million tonnes of urea. This will increase to five million tonnes in 2016. Qatar will be the leader in terms of the volume of urea production", he said. On the supply-demand gap, he said there are several factors that influence the demand.
For instance, the crisis in the West has created a slowdown in the market. But we believe the growing population and the stronger economy would be key market drivers in the emerging countries. "We have seven billion inhabitants across the globe. Food security is the central agenda of global development agencies. The global market expects more output from this region."
There is a consistent expansion in the Gulf, particularly in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. The region would be a major contributor to the increase in the projected global production volume.
In terms of diversification, he said the region has started producing two grades of phosphate fertilisers since 2011. The GCC countries have rich phosphate deposits.