Belarus's Grodno Azot cuts investment plans

13 July 2007 12:15  [Source: ICIS news]

MOSCOW (ICIS news)--Belarus fertiliser producer Grodno Azot cut its 2006-2010 investment programme from $394m (€288m) to $340m due to higher natural gas prices, the company said in a statement on Friday.

In January, Russian gas giant Gazprom forced consumers in Belarus to pay $100 per thousand cubic metres (tcm), up $47/tcm from 2006.

The state-owned Grodno Azot currently has the capacity to produce 650,000 tonnes/year of nitrogen fertiliser, 110,000 tonnes/year of caprolactam and 55,000 tonnes/year of methanol.

Its investment programme includes 10 projects to increase the plant's capacities across those products as well as biofuel projects.

The Belarus government has also been mulling over programmes to upgrade its state-controlled Polimir plant and Naftan refinery, both based in Novopolotsk, Vitebsk region. This would cost $1.7bn but plans have yet to materialise so far.

($1 = €0.73)

By: Sergei Blagov
+44 20 8652 3214

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