Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Company Limited shuts down again amid ongoing gas crisis
“Our factory requires 45 mmcfd [million cubic feet per day] of gas to maintain daily production of 1,100 tonnes of fertilizer. Without that supply, we had no choice but to shut down operations,” said Managing Director Mizanur Rahman
The state-owned Chittagong Urea Fertilizer Company Limited (CUFL) has halted production once again due to a shortage in gas supply, marking yet another setback for the factory, which is plagued by frequent shutdowns.
Production was suspended early this morning (11 April) after the Karnaphuli Gas Distribution Company Limited (KGDCL) ceased gas supply to the plant at around 6am, according to CUFL Managing Director Mizanur Rahman.
"Our factory requires 45 mmcfd [million cubic feet per day] of gas to maintain daily production of 1,100 tonnes of fertilizer. Without that supply, we had no choice but to shut down operations," Rahman said.
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He added that the gas distributor cited a national gas shortage as the reason for the suspension.
CUFL had resumed production last October following the restoration of gas supply, setting a target of producing 1.5 lakh tonnes of fertilizer for the upcoming season.
"In the last five months, we managed to produce 1 lakh tonnes. With this shutdown, we are falling short of our target by 50,000 tonnes," Rahman said.
The factory had previously restarted operations on 14 October 2023 after an eight-month closure caused by mechanical issues and gas supply disruptions. However, that resumption was short-lived — production was halted again on 7 February 2024 due to similar problems.
This is not the first prolonged shutdown for CUFL.
In November 2022, the plant stopped production for nearly a year — 11 months and 20 days — before briefly coming back online in November 2023.
