Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI) has exported 556,000 metric tonnes of urea worth US$322 million with a production of over 631,000 metric tonnes since January 2022.
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam in a titah recently said that the project is one of the government’s commitments to further grow the country’s economic activity.
“The development of the petrochemical industry will be one of the main contributors to diversifying the country’s exports. This will also reduce the country’s reliance on oil and gas products,” said the monarch.
Image: Infofoto
His Majesty further said that BFI plays an important role in supplying urea to countries that depend on agriculture and which exportation activities will increase Brunei’s logistics sector.
The monarch also lauded BFI’s achievement in employing 66 per cent local workforce out of over 500 employees with 161 Bruneians from technical educational institutions who went for six months of industrial training at ammonia and urea plants in neighbouring countries.
“I am confident that BFI continues to play a vital role in successfully achieving the government and country’s aspirations. With the launch (of the BFI plant), the company will create opportunities for other local companies in industries such as logistics, security, catering and others,” said His Majesty.
Image: Infofoto
File photo courtesy of BFI
Acknowledging the efforts and commitment to the successful plant setup, the sultan also announced the Project Completion Bonus to be received by all of BFI’s employees.
BFI was established on 28 October 2013 with the aim to produce Brunei’s first urea, a type of organic mixture that can improve soil quality that is essential for plant growth.
Urea has the highest nitrogen content of any solid nitrogen fertilisers and is the most used fertiliser in the world, with dominance in the Asian market.
Image: Infofoto
Image: Infofoto
Daily, BFI produces about 2,200 metric tonnes of ammonia to produce 3,900 metric tonnes of granular urea.
Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Finance and Economy Yang Berhormat Dato Seri Setia Dr Hj Mohd Amin Liew in his speech said that ammonia and urea products will spur more business opportunities in the country by exploring other petrochemical products such as urea formaldehyde, melamine, or resins.
The minister highlighted that on 3 February 2022, BFI exported its first urea of 6,200 metric tonnes to Thailand before recording a larger export of 25,000 metric tonnes to the United States of America.
Image: Infofoto
“Alhamdulillah, to date, BFI has successfully exported to Asia, America, Australia and New Zealand. On top of that, for local food security, BFI’s urea is competent to meet the needs of the country’s agricultural products,” said YB Dato Dr Hj Mohd Amin Liew.
The BFI project is implemented by the government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and is one of the largest and most recent downstream oil and gas/chemical projects in Brunei that utilises the country’s natural gas resources.
It is amongst the largest single-train urea facility in the world, with an expected production capacity of 1.365 million tonnes per annum of granular urea.
THE BRUNEIAN | BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
