Air Liquide says reduced ammonia production hit its CO2 supplies

(Reuters) – Air Liquide said on Tuesday ammonia production stoppages impacted its carbon dioxide supplies, adding that it was actively working to limit the impact of these shortages on its clients.

Chemical companies, most of them in the fertiliser sector, produce CO2 as a byproduct, but as energy prices soar, many of them halted or reduced production.

“Ammonia producers we mainly source CO2 from shut down their operations and, as a consequence, our supply”, Air Liquide said in an e-mailed statement, adding its teams were “fully mobilized to limit the impact these tensions may have on client activities.”

Last week, Polish chemical firm Grupa Azoty’s Pulawy said it was producing carbon dioxide at less than a third of nominal capacity while the Polish unit of Danish beer maker Carlsberg said it might have to stop production due to a shortage of CO2 supplies.

Air Liquide sells various products containing carbon dioxide to industry clients, ranging from drugs packaging to arc welding.

(Reporting by Olivier Sorgho, writing by Piotr Lipinski, editing by Tassilo Hummel)