Egypt’s MOPCO nitrogen fertilizer plant remains shut in – Agrium

08 February 2012 17:59  [Source: ICIS news]

TORONTO (ICIS)--Egypt’s MOPCO nitrogen fertilizer facility at Damietta remains shut in amid "politically motivated protests", stakeholder Agrium said on Wednesday.

MOPCO shut the 660,000 tonne/year granular urea plant at Damietta last November because of protests over a planned expansion and environmental issues.

However, Canadian fertilizer major Agrium, which holds a 26% stake in MOPCO, said it is “optimistic the facility will be allowed to re-open in 2012, given its strong environmental performance” and its contribution to the Egyptian economy.

A government-appointed independent Egyptian scientific review panel had recently “reconfirmed” MOPCO’s environmental performance, Agrium said.

During Agrium's fourth-quarter results conference call CEO Mike Wilson described the protests in Egypt as "politically motivated" amid that country's ongoing transition.

Wilson added with the shutdown, the Egyptian government, which controls MOPCO, is losing "hundreds of millions of dollars" in revenues.

"We are hoping that the Egyptian government will uphold the law, and all the [MOPCO] operations will restart in the not so distant future," he said.

By: Stefan Baumgarten
+1 713 525 2653

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