The state-run BCIC has sought Payment Crisis Deepens an uninterrupted supply of at least 197 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD) to keep four urea fertilizer factories operational for 11 consecutive months.
the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) recently made a proposal to the Ministry of Industries (MoI) for taking its necessary steps to this effect in line with the recommendations of a committee formed by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division.
the corporation has also requested the authorities to amend Clause 10.3 of BERC (Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission) Order No. 2023/20 in order to raise the guaranteed daily gas supply to 197 MMCFD from 140 MMCFD for the sake of uninterrupted fertilizer production.
the BCIC, operating under the industries ministry, runs seven fertilizer factories. Urea fertilizer alone accounts for nearly 80 per cent of BCIC’s overall output, sources said, adding that the corporation currently runs ?ve urea fertilizer plants, all of them heavily dependent on natural gas as their primary raw material. Due to a severe gas crisis in the country, an uninterrupted gas supply to most urea factories remained largely unavailable since 2007-08. Gas supply remains suspended between April and November each year, forcing the BCIC fertilizer plants to shut their production for extended periods routinely, it was learnt