By Clara Nwachukwu,

The management of Indorama Eleme Fertiliser & Chemicals Ltd., IEPL, has said it is not afraid of threats by the Federal Government to look into the sale of the petrochemical company, which it acquired in 2006 under the privatisation exercise.

The assertion follows calls by various groups for government to review the entire process of the sale of its shares in some public companies already sold to private investors with a view to determining if government got a good deal from the divestments.

Speaking on the issue at the company’s headquarters in Eleme, Rivers State last week, the IEPL Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr Manish Mundra, told journalists, “We have nothing to hide.”

Mundra, who spoke after a facility tour of the soon to be commissioned $1.5 billion fertiliser and urea plants and port terminal, revealed that the House of Representatives Committee had already visited the petrochemical complex on a fact finding mission.

He said: “No matter the probe, we are not afraid because the process was very transparent. The House Committee had already visited us; gave us questionnaires to fill, which we did. So we are waiting for the outcome.”

Post privatisation monitoring

He disclosed that the IEPL management was also given a clean bill by the post privatisation monitoring team after a period of five years.

He added that in the event government takes back the company, it would have to return the total amount of investments made in the complex since its takeover.

Fertilizer & chemical complex

The Indorama brand new fertilizer plant, which Mundra said will put Nigeria on the global fertilizer map, is billed to be commissioned on April 1st and comprises:

*$1.5 billion foreign direct investment, FDI;

*1.4 million metric tonnes, MT, fertilizers capacity per annum

*World-class facilities & technology

*Gas pipeline & port terminal projects

The Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemicals Limited, IEFCL, is being competed in record 36 months, while many critical sections of the plant have gone through various stages of pre-commissioning, commissioning and test-run, leading to plant inauguration.

An 83-kilometre gas pipeline will supply natural gas liquid, NGL feedstock to the plant, while a Port terminal at Onne Port Complex have also been completed to compliment the fertilizer project.

The fertilizer plant has world scale capacity of Urea 4,000MT/day or 1.4 million MT yearly. Other components of the project include, a 2,300 MT/D Ammonia Plant, 4,000 MT/D Urea granulation plant with associated offsite and utilities.

According to the Project Director, Mr. Uptal Chatterjee, “For the Ammonia, KBR’s purifier Ammonia process technology is used. KBR is the leading global engineering, construction and technology service provider.”

He added: “For the Urea plant, Toyo’s Urea synthesis process technology, i.e. ACES 21 Technology” is used. For Urea Granulation, spout bed fluidising technology is used. The introduction of these technologies makes the Indorama’s Fertilizer project a world class plant.”