"In past years to stop the supply of natural gas time is relatively short, recently in 2078 did not stop for so long." A responsible person is stopped due to natural gas feedstock supply, located in Hebei Cangzhou Dahua yesterday anxiety of the first Financial Daily "reporters, said," Now our urea production line full stop, no one has yet received notification of the resumption of production. " 

Urea production enterprises located in the southwest region is also facing the and Cangzhou Dahua same situation. This reporter learned Yuntianhua, Lutianhua of * ST Sichuan-based Southwest region the gas head urea enterprise recently been discontinued. 

The industry believes that, since the end of last year, around the natural gas supply gap increases, urea enterprises "breathe" intensified with the relevant policies and restrictions on industrial users of natural gas and natural gas prices rising, gas head urea The days of the enterprise in the next few years will be very good. 

The number of listed companies is breathe 

Every year in October to December, natural gas as raw materials urea enterprises operating rate will be a downward trend in 2012, this phenomenon is more prominent. 

Han Jian, an analyst at the information provided to the newspaper show 2011 10 December, industry operating rates were 75.7%, 76.2% and 64.8%, respectively; 10 December 2012 operating rates were 74.5%, 67.0% and 50.2%. Which Cangzhou Dahua Yuntianhua, from late November discontinued Lutianhua from around December 10 discontinued, Sichuan technology from discontinued on December 30. 

Gas-based urea enterprises operating rate in December 2012 dropped to the lowest value in the past two years. "Said Han Jian, discontinued in January of this year will also be expected to continue operating rate is difficult to pick up, the operating rate may be after the Spring Festival before may rebound. 

In Cangzhou Dahua "air head" while enterprises have ceased production of urea, around the urea market prices are rising. According to statistics, from mid-November 2012 to the end of December, the national average price of urea rose from 1900 yuan / ton to 2,114 yuan / ton, the mainstream ex-factory price of urea in the North China from 1850 to 1870 yuan / ton rose to 2080 ~ 2100 yuan / ton. 

Cangzhou Dahua discontinued in late November 2012 and the sky of its normal monthly output of 50,000 tons and 60,000 tons respectively. As of now, the two companies discontinued more than 40 days. A analyst on condition of anonymity to the reporter calculations, Cangzhou Dahua urea cost is about 1600 ~ 1700 yuan / ton, in North China's ex-factory price of urea in December 2012, the 40-day production of about 67,000 tons, about 400 yuan per ton, gross profit, that is discontinued cause it to reduce profit by about 26.8 million yuan. 

Cangzhou Dahua loss from the oil field to compensate. A person in charge of the above Cangzhou Dahua, the reporter said, Cangzhou Dahua and PetroChina signed a gas supply agreement, "breathe", the oil will be given subsidies Cangzhou Dahua. "But subsidies simply not enough to make up for the loss of subsidies can cover the loss of 50% of the amount, plus labor costs, lower subsidies to cover losses." 

Yuntianhua cost less than Cangzhou Dahua, its loss may be more. The analyst said that the discontinued 40 days Yuntianhua lead to the production of about 80,000 tons of urea costs about 1400 ~ 1500 yuan / ton, the National urea price Yuntianhua may directly reduce profit of 40 million yuan. As for Yuntianhua also be obtained from the natural gas supply enterprises subsidies temporarily unclear. 

The plight of intractable 

How to solve the shortage of raw materials, which is the top priority of the the gas head urea enterprises. 

The chemical analyst Zhu Fang told reporters, urea enterprises using natural gas as the raw material of the southwest region in recent years, will appear in the November to March next year, the lack of raw materials, in 2012 December, discontinued phenomenon become more serious. In accordance with relevant state regulations, industrial gases to give way to the residents to use gas, and the temperature dropped the number of gas surged residents heating in the winter, so urea production enterprises always face the plight of the lack of air. 

"And this dilemma in the short term can not be fundamentally resolved." Said Zhu Fang, southwest region coal-rich natural gas resources than local urea get on there if you want to change coal as raw materials, resources difficulty. Now have some urea enterprises start out of the southwest region, to the rich coal resources in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and other regions to start building the "the coal head" urea factory, to seek its urea production diversification of raw materials. 

It is understood that the sky of gold in Inner Mongolia Chemical "the coal head urea project has been basically completed, the company hopes to gradually get rid of the" gas shortage "bring the shackles, the diversification of the supply of upstream resources. 

In addition to looking for new resources to transform the existing process is another option. However, the official said, Cangzhou Dahua transformation costly production unit, and urea as raw coal and natural gas as raw materials to produce urea product quality differences, "Our customers require natural gas feedstock production of urea, If replacement of raw materials, they can not meet the needs of existing customers, the company is also at a disadvantage. " 

Natural gas as raw material companies will face increasing pressure. Zhu Fang, said the one hand, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a natural gas utilization policy provisions will no longer approve new general, the expansion of the production capacity of natural gas as raw materials to produce urea, on the one hand, the price of coal fell last year, while natural gas The price is expected to shift rising, so the gas head urea corporate cost advantage compared with the "the coal head" urea enterprise has not been seen.