ST. PETERSBURG, October 11. /TASS/. Fertilizer producers request introducing the excise tax deduction as a measure of supporting the upgrade of existing plants, Board Chairman of EuroChem Igor Nechaev said at the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum.
More than 70% of ammonia producing facilities in Russia were built 40-50 years ago and earlier, he noted. "They break down, constantly require turnarounds and accordingly have low productivity," Nechaev said. Their upgrade at present is costly and economically unfeasible.
This issue has been discussed at a recent meeting on the fertilizer industry under guidance of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Nikolay Patrushev, the board chairman said. "We as the industry put forward a proposal: let’s simply make the excise tax deduction, as it is for liquefied hydrocarbons," Nechaev said. The excise tax deduction will make upgrades and modernization more feasible, he noted.
The potential of gas use for fertilizer production in Russia is vast and its consumption may grow on account of upgrading ammonia production facilities, Nechaev said. "Open and available technologies at present make possible to bring old ammonia facilities to the level of productivity and efficiency of new ammonia facilities, and the potential is good to make in five coming years. Even if we upgrade 10% of ammonia facilities during the next five years, it will immediately provide us with several billion cubic meters of natural gas to be consumed," he added.