Record high gas prices in Europe forced Grupa Azoty, the second largest fertilizer producer in the EU, to suspend operations. The group announced this in a press release on its website. Against the backdrop of the announcement, Grupa Azoty shares fell 5.4 percent since the beginning of the day.
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Starting August 23, a leading Polish company is closing a plant for the production of nitrogen fertilizers, caprolactam (needed in engineering plastics) and polyamide-6 (high-strength plastic). At the same time, the production of catalysts, polyamide shells, humic acids, thermoplastic starch and concentrated nitric acid will continue. While work is suspended, the company will carry out a previously planned major overhaul of a number of installations. The group does not say when the plant will resume production.
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The chemical company explained that the closure of the enterprise was due to unprecedented prices for natural gas, which ensures its operation. If on February 22 the fuel cost $752 per thousand cubic meters, then on August 22 prices rose to $2882 per thousand cubic meters. At the time of writing the news, gas is traded on the London ICE exchange at $2,877 per thousand cubic meters.
