Peace-. Bolivia faces the challenge of building a new fertilizer production plant given the growing demand for urea in the world, and particularly in South America, said today the President of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos, Armin Dorgathen.
“Our goal is to build the second urea plant, we are analyzing the details (…). Our goal is to double the capacity of the Ammonia and Urea Plant (PAU) and make Bolivia a center (concentrator) for fertilizers,” the company director affirmed in statements to the YPFB press service.
Dorgathen reported that PAU, based in Bulo Bulo, Cochabamba, sells high-quality urea to the Argentine and Brazilian markets and has greater demand from these two neighboring countries and Paraguay, as well as Europe.
As an example of the possibilities opened up by this type of fertilizer, he explained that the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso alone requires an amount that is produced in 10 urea plants like PAU.
Also, he argued, from a logistical point of view, the proximity between the two countries gives Bolivia a competitive advantage over other continents.
“Urea as a fertilizer guarantees us food, not only for Bolivia but for the region, which is why we started this management with the engineering for the construction of the second plant and as a supplier for the region,” confirms Dorgathen.
According to YPFB, in addition to sales abroad, the national product reduced imports in the domestic market by 99 percent, with significant help to agriculture.
In this sense, the sources added, the second urea plant is a necessity and this project will be part of an integral petrochemical complex for which the technical study award will be managed.
Dorgathen commented that YPFB’s Engineering, Projects and Infrastructure Management conducted the conceptual engineering study for this second urea plant in 2022.
“We have high demand for fertilizers both at home and abroad, so we will continue to industrialize the gas to offer our urea to the world,” he reiterated.
He added that the study to launch this project is expected to be tendered in the current year and described that the cost of the pre-investment phase is $1 million 290,000, of which $110,000 million will be carried out this year.
According to Dorgathen, this second urea plant is expected to consume one trillion cubic feet (TCF) of gas over 20 years, for which an exploration plan for major hydrocarbon production is being developed.
“The industrialization of gas is a success that creates employment and development and continues to advance to add value to our natural resources for the benefit of the economy of all Bolivians,” concluded the President of YPFB.