HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani poses for a photograph with Qatari employees of Qafco. Also in the picture are HE the Deputy Premier Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah; HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada; Yara president & CEO Jørgen Ole Haslestad; Qafco chairman Abdulaziz bin Ahmed al-Malki and vice-chairman and CEO Khalifa Abdulla al-Sowaidi.

By Pratap John
Chief Business Reporter
Qatar Fertiliser Company’s ongoing expansion-Qafco-6 is expected to be ready by the third quarter of 2012, HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada has said.
“Qafco-6 is underway and progressing very well,” al-Sada said at a press conference in Mesaieed yesterday. With Qafco-6, the fertiliser major’s urea production will touch 5.6mn tonnes.

HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim at the inauguration of the $3.2bn Qafco–5 plant at Mesaieed yesterday. Also seen are Yara president and CEO Jørgen Ole Haslestad, Qatari Businessmen Association chairman Sheikh Faisal bin Qassem al-Thani and HE the Deputy Premier Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah

Qafco vice-chairman and CEO Khalifa Abdulla al-Sowaidi said the company currently is the No 1 urea supplier to Australia and South Africa and the second biggest supplier to the US.
“In future we will like to expand our markets in South America especially in Brazil. The South American country will require lots of urea in future and we look forward to establishing a big market there” he said.
“Qatar, a small country with a population of 1.5mn is helping 200mn people by helping set food on their tables” al-Sowaidi said.
Qafco products have markets in some 35 countries across the world. Currently, Qafco leads the global fertiliser manufacturers with an 18% share of the global urea supply.
On Qafco-5, which was formally inaugurated by HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Mesaieed yesterday, al-Sowaidi said the plant was set up on a 1sq km area and had about 14,000 people working at the site (at peak of construction).
“While we are ambitious to achieve the targets, we never sacrifice our people or expose our environment to dangers. We’re proud to say we have implemented the Qafco – 5 expansion project with almost zero near-miss incidents in the work place, even during harsh weather conditions. With state-of-the-art facilities, the emissions and waste discharge will be maintained at the lowest allowable levels,” al-Sowaidi said.
“The Responsible Care certification and Product Stewardship, which we achieved recently, are eloquent acknowledgements of Qafco’s endless efforts to take care of its operations and products and assume a constructive role in the society,” al-Sowaidi said.
While boosting Qafco’s urea and ammonia production significantly, Qafco – 5 will generate many job opportunities for Qataris, said Qafco chairman Abdulaziz bin Ahmed al-Malki.

HH the Heir Apparent viewing a presentation on Qafco-5.

Long-term sales deals with Indian firms signed
Qafco has signed long-term sale agreements with two leading Indian companies-Coromandel International and Paradeep Phosphates -for the supply of anhydrous ammonia.
The signing ceremony was attended among others by HE the Minister of Energy and Industry, Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada and Qafco chairman Abdulaziz A al-Malki.
Under deal with Coromandel, Qafco will supply a fixed quantity of 150,000 tonnes and an optional 50,000 tonnes of anhydrous ammonia annually.
The agreement was signed by Qafco vice-chairman and CEO Khalifa A al-Sowaidi and Coromandel managing director Kapil Mehan.
Besides Yousef al-Kuwari, Qafco chief marketing officer and Ali al- Sanadi, ammonia sales manager; Harish Malhotra, Coromandel senior vice president, attended the event. Also present were VS Sahney and Masood Ahmed from Coromandel.
The deal with Paradeep Phosphates would see Qafco supply 100,000 tonnes of anhydrous ammonia every year.
Earlier in 2009, Qafco had signed an agreement with Paradeep to supply 100,000 tonnes of ammonia a year.

HH the Heir Apparent meeting Qatar Petroleum directors.

The agreement was signed by al-Sowaidi and Sunil Gupta, Paradeep vice-president, in the presence of al-Kuwari and al- Sanadi. Sanjeev Dhakre of Paradeep was also present.