Fertiliser tycoon Pankaj Oswal has let loose on the administrators of Burrup Fertilisers, saying their mismanagement of the plant is diminishing shareholder value and could have already cost up to $US100 million in revenue.
Mr Oswal released a statement today in which he raised "grave concerns" over the management of the fertiliser plant by PPB Advisory, concerns he said were stoked by the fire earlier this week which will cause a three to four week shutdown of the plant.
"The plant is too often in shut down mode and staff morale is low," Mr Oswal said.
Mr Oswal said that since PPB took control of the plant it has lost 70 days of production, and around $US100 million in revenue.
"This revenue could have been used to pay ANZ and reduce the debt on the company either through direct repayment or thortuhg dividends to reduce my personal loans," Mr Oswal said.
"By comparison, when I was in control of Burrup the plant ran for 420 consecutive days at 15 per cent above the name plate capacity of 2200 tonnes per day."
Mr Oswal said he was also concerned with the management of the sales process for his 37.5 per cent interest in the plantthe plant, which he said was "amateurish".
The sale of Burrup is being managed by advisory company Flagstaff.
"Flagstaff has little or no experience in selling big petrochemical assets such as Burrup fertilisers," Mr Oswal said.
Mr Oswal and his wife, Radhika, have filed proceedings in Victoria's Supreme Court challenging the validity of the receivership and a $US500 million cost overrun claim against Burrup.
