Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Ltd. (SPIC) has announced that it has completely switched to natural gas as a raw material source for producing urea.
This lowers the overall cost of fertilizer production. Feedstock will now be available continuously, with no storage requirements and low logistics and freight costs.
Despite their higher impurity levels and potential for pollution, fuel oil and naphtha have traditionally been the primary fuels used in fertilizer production. The Government of India has advised all fertilizer manufacturers to switch to natural gas.
“The completion of the Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) SRPL team’s Ennore cross-country pipeline and ONGC’s supply of domestic gas via the IOCL cross-country pipeline provided SPIC with an opportunity to transition to a cleaner fuel source.” SPIC is one of the anchor customers who will benefit from this pipeline, according to a company statement.
SPIC will use both domestic gas and regasified liquefied natural gas (R-LNG). To prepare for this transition, the company has modified its primary reformer catalyst to handle 100% natural gas.
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“This shift aligns with our commitment to environmental sustainability and underscores our responsiveness to government policies promoting cleaner fuel sources,” said Ashwin Muthiah, CEO of SPIC.
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