Brazil accounted for the largest share of the company’s total exports at 49 per cent, followed by the United States a share of 19 per cent and Taiwan which had a share of 15 per cent. All the exports were on board 65 vessels that left Bahrain shores

The Gulf Petrochemical Industries company (GPIC) added landmark achievements to its credit in the last year, thanks to the ambitious approach of its Board of Directors and the commitment of its staff, and in spite of the challenges of global markets.

Company president Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery said market fluctuations; challenges of Chinese exports and the instability of balance of supply and demand were not able to affect GPIC’s performance and its ability to achieve sustainable development in business activities and community responsibility, which the company considers as one of its top priorities.

He said GPIC is keen to continue on the ambitious path to reach new heights of excellence to preserve its gains and remain committed to its approach towards safety at the workplace.

Dr Jawahery said he was pleased with the results in the last year when GPIC was able to achieve approximately 5,364 working days without a lost time accident, which is equivalent to more than 24.9 million hours. He said this is a significant challenge not only in numbers but also in keeping the workers, who are the backbone of sustainable development, safe.

Dr Jawahery said record exports were achieved and the company exported a total of 1.23 million tonnes of ammonia, urea and methanol, an increase of 3 per cent over what had been planned for the year. This was also an increase of 11 per cent of what was exported in 2015, when it was 1.01 million tonnes.

The company also exported 348,472 tonnes of urea to the emerging Brazilian market, which is the largest amount to be exported since the start of production. This was a significant achievement since this requires a lot of effort and work due to the intense competition to grab a share.

Brazil also accounted for the largest share of the company’s total exports at 49 per cent, followed by the United States a share of 19 per cent and Taiwan which had a share of 15 per cent. All the exports were on board 65 vessels that left Bahrain shores.

Dr Jawahery revealed the last quarter of the year achieved a record production of 206,000 tonnes of urea, of which 179,000 tonnes was exported, exceeding the 170,000 tonnes exported in 2015 by 5 per cent. The company produced 117,000 tonnes of ammonia during the last quarter of the year, of which 17,900 tonnes was exported, exceeding the 2015 figure of 12,354 thousand tonnes. Another milestone represented the production of 113,000 tonnes of methanol during the same period.

Throughout the year, the company exported 712,179 tonnes of urea, 443,729 tonnes of methanol and 78,218 tonnes of ammonia.

Dr Jawahery said in spite of all the challenges faced by the company during the last quarter of this year due to oversupply of Urea and the emerging Chinese market, there was no obstacle to the company in continuing its operations and exports to alternative markets.

He said this demonstrated the sound marketing plans and flexible strategies set up by the Board of Directors to cope with the expected challenges, in addition to the efforts of the Petrochemical Industries company of Kuwait and the Saudi Basic Industries company, who market the company’s products.

He said GPIC also showed great interest in the growth and development of Bahraini human resources, who were provided special training courses at home and abroad and through workshops on all aspects of the petrochemical industry.