Qafco seeks expansion in South American market 

(MENAFN) Qatar Fertilizer Company (Qafco), an arm of Industries Qatar, said that it will raise urea production to 5.6 million tons a year by 2012 from three million tons a year to tap South American markets, QNA reported.

Qafco awarded an EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) contract worth around $610m to a consortium comprising Saipem of Italy and Hyundai Engineering & Construction of Korea for its Qafco-6 expansion project.

Qafco's Chairman, Abdulla H Salatt, Saipem Chief Operating Officer Onshore Business Unit, Varone Pietro and COO of Plant Division, Hyundai Engineering & Construction Company Ltd, Jong Ho Kim signed the agreement.

The company is currently undertaking another expansion project, the Qafco-5 which is slated for completion in early 2011 and will raise Qafco's annual production capacity to 3.8 million MT of ammonia and 4.3 million MT of urea making Qafco the world's largest single-site producer of both ammonia and urea.

Currently the US, Thailand and Australia are the largest importers of Qafco urea with roughly 400,000 to a half million tons per year.