On June 19, a chemical fertilizer company in Southwest China reported to a reporter from China Chemical Industry News that nitrogen fertilizer and methanol companies that use natural gas as raw materials are currently facing a shortage of raw material supply, leading to large-scale losses.
The person in charge of a gas head chemical fertilizer company told reporters that starting from April this year, the supply of natural gas used as raw materials for gas head nitrogen fertilizer and methanol companies in Southwest China has been seriously insufficient, resulting in the load of each company can only be maintained at 70% to 80%. Full production.
"The main reason is that the annual contracts signed by upstream natural gas suppliers and chemical fertilizer companies are very small, and we cannot afford natural gas at market prices. Even during the contract execution period, the gas supply is seriously insufficient, basically It is 70% to 80% of the demand of the enterprise. This phenomenon is unprecedented." The person in charge of the enterprise said.
According to the reporter's understanding, compared with the peak of civil natural gas consumption in winter, the southwest region is currently in the off-season of natural gas sales. In the past, from April to October every year, gas head nitrogen fertilizer and methanol enterprises can basically achieve full production.
"However, starting from April this year, the upstream contract gas supply has been further reduced by 10% on the basis of last year's 10% reduction, so that enterprises can only maintain 70% to 80% of the load. Fertilizer production has at least decreased 20%, there are also practical problems such as unstable operation and maintenance of equipment, high consumption, and increased safety hazards, and production costs have further increased. Moreover, the gas price in the contract is 2.2 yuan per cubic meter, an increase of 10.6% year-on-year. Through the trading center The price of the transaction is even more unbearable. Not only that, compared with the full load of 80% of the company's operating load, the energy consumption of water, electricity, and gas is basically the same." The person in charge of the company said helplessly.
The person in charge of the company also admitted frankly that they had communicated with the gas supplier about the shortage of raw gas supply, but it was basically useless. Because gas head nitrogen fertilizer and methanol companies are not important in the industrial chain, they have no right to speak and no bargaining chips.
The reporter learned that the current serious shortage of natural gas supply and the decline in the start-up load are not unique among Southwest gas companies. Since May this year, due to the dilemma of rising gas prices, shortage of gas supply and falling fertilizer prices, the production and operation of gas-headed nitrogen fertilizer and methanol companies such as Yuntianhua, Lutianhua, Chongqing Jianfeng, and Sichuan Tianhua have been severely affected. A big impact, the entire industry suffered losses.
The reduction in gas supply has led to a corresponding reduction in the supply of chemical fertilizers in the region, which runs counter to the guarantee of supply and stable prices advocated by the National Development and Reform Commission. In this regard, the person in charge of the Qitou fertilizer company said: "The government requires chemical fertilizer companies to guarantee supply and price stability, but raw material manufacturers cannot guarantee supply and price stability. In the entire Qitou fertilizer industry chain, we cannot only ask downstream enterprises Requirements. If the upstream does not supply gas, we don’t even have raw materials, so how can we guarantee the supply? In fact, signs of gas supply reduction began to appear in April this year. However, the urea market price was relatively high in April, so the problem was not obvious However, the price of chemical fertilizers began to drop in May, and the price of fertilizers dropped even more in June. This problem has become very prominent. This is also a phenomenon that has not happened for many years. I hope that the relevant national departments will pay attention to the gas supply problem in a timely manner. Solved." (Yu Hong)