SPIC moves to 100 per cent natural gas for urea production

CHENNAI: Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Ltd. (SPIC), one of India’s pioneering agri-nutrient and fertilizer company, has completely transitioned to 100 per cent natural gas as a raw material source for the production of urea.

This will bring down the final cost of production of fertilizers. Feedstock will now be continuously available with no storage requirements and minimum logistics and freight overheads. India is eager to increase gas share in its energy basket from 6.3 percent currently to 15 pc, as per a release.

The completion of the Indian Oil Corporation’s (IOC) SRPL team’s Ennore cross-country pipeline and ONGC supply of domestic gas through IOCL cross country pipeline presented SPIC with an opportunity to transition to a cleaner fuel source.

Embracing this opportunity, SPIC agreed to consume domestic gas and re-gasified liquefied natural gas (R-LNG). In preparation for this transition, SPIC adapted its primary reformer catalyst to handle 100 per cent natural gas. SPIC is one of the anchor customers to benefit from this pipeline.

Until March 2024, SPIC used a combination of fuels, with 60 per cent of its domestic natural gas supplied through the IOCL Ramnad Thoothukudi pipeline from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Ramnad.

Ashwin Muthiah, chairman, SPIC said, “SPIC has been one of India’s pioneering fertilizer companies for over five decades. We are pleased to announce the successful transition to 100 per cent natural gas for urea production.”