The Hindu Business Line : Oil PSU strike hits gas supply to fertiliser cos

Mumbai, Jan. 9 Strike by public sector oil companies’ staff has affected gas supply to fertiliser companies resulting in shut down of their production units.

Aditya Birla Nuvo and Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals have announced shut down of their plants due to non-availability of gas supply.

Aditya Birla Nuvo on Friday said it had shut its fertiliser unit in Uttar Pradesh due to unavailability of gas on the back of a strike called by the employees of State-run oil firms. Production will resume once gas supplies are restored, the company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Aditya Birla Nuvo offers agriculture solutions, Indo Gulf, manufactures and markets urea, agricultural seeds and agrochemicals. It has an annual production capacity of 8.64 lakh tonnes . The company enjoys a leadership position in the nitrogenous fertiliser sector with its strong brand, Birla Shaktiman Urea.

Indo Gulf markets its products in four States – Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand – under the Essential Commodities Act (ECA).

Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals has shut down production at Gadepan plant in Rajasthan from Wednesday. The shutdown, which started on Wednesday, was likely to continue until normal gas supplies are restored, the company said in a statement.

The strike by the oil companies’ employees from January 7 demanding higher pay has disrupted gas supplies to several fertiliser units.

Gujarat Gas Company has said supply of natural gas from GAIL has reduced to about 2 per cent of the normal levels of 2.27 mmscmd based on two separate contracts. Supplies from GAIL account for more than 80 per cent of Gujarat Gas’ total supply. The short supply of gas has affected Gujarat Gas sale mainly to industrial customers, the company said in a statement to BSE.

“The situation is likely to continue till the strike is called off and normal gas production and operations of shore-based facilities at Hazira, including pipelines, is restored,” it added.

Aditya Birla Nuvo shares on BSE were down 1.33 per cent at Rs 557 and Chambal Fertilisers fell 1.38 per cent to Rs 36. Gujarat Gas jumped 7.25 per cent to Rs 240 while the benchmark Sensex lost 180 points on Friday.

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