The meeting, chaired by Fertilizer Minister Ananth Kumar and attended by Minister of Steel and Mines Narendra Singh Tomar and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, discussed issues related to revival of sick units of Fertiliser Corporation of India Ltd (FCIL) and also those of Hindustan Fertiliser Corporation Ltd (HFCL).
"The FCIL sick fertilisers units at Sindri, (Jharkhand), Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh), Ramagundam (Andhra Pradesh), and Talcher (Orissa) and un-commissioned unit at Korba (Chhatisgarh) have certain issues relating to supply of gas and there are some land related issues of Sindri plant these were discussed in the meeting," Kumar told reporters here.
Kumar said he has also asked the Petroleum Ministry for exploring the possibility of gas pipeline from Jagdishpur to Haldia as it can lead to revival of closed plants.
Fertiliser plants are the biggest consumers of domestically produced gas, using 31.5 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd).
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Natural gas accounts for as much as 65-70 per cent of urea production costs in India, and it is cost effective compared with other feedstock.
No urea capacity has been added in India in almost 13 years. The Fertilizer Minister expressed the hope to boost the production of domestic urea by reviving the eight sick units, including five units of FCIL and three units of HFCL.
Earlier, Kumar had said that Talcher and Ramagundam projects would come on stream, but noted that they would need at least 36-48 months to become operational and require a combined investment of Rs 9,000-9,500 crore.