Perdaman agrees EPC terms for Karratha urea project

Perdaman will invest a total of AUS$4.5 billion to develop the plant that will transform natural gas into urea. Perdaman has secured natural gas for 20 years from Woodside under the Gas Supply Agreement signed in November 2018.

The project has been given significant project status by the Western Australian Government.

Perdaman believes that the project will generate on average around 2000 jobs during the three-year construction phase. On completion, the plant will provide 200 permanent jobs in Karratha.

“The company is pleased to be part of job creation for the state and is privileged to be the part of the manufacturing initiative project in WA again,” said Vikas Rambal, Perdaman's Chairman.

The facility will produce 2 million tpy of urea, estimated to generate more than AUS$850 million per annum in export earnings for Western Australia.

“The coronavirus pandemic has taught us an important lesson about the food security for our society and our over-reliance on imports,” said Rambal.

The Clough and Saipem JV will act as the lead contractor for the EPC work that includes a water treatment plant, a power plant (100 MW), as well as urea storage, loading and unloading facilities. A closed conveyer will transport the urea 7 km direct to Pilbara Ports Authority for shipping to local and offshore markets, with 50 to 100 shiploads expected per year.

Peter Bennett, Clough CEO and Managing Director, said: “We are very excited to be part of this milestone project. During the construction phase, this world class facility will create around 2000 jobs and will be an important development for the Australian resources industry, significantly reducing the nation’s reliance on fertilizer imports.

“We are delighted to partner with Saipem, renowned for its work in urea projects internationally. That combined with Clough’s Australian engineering and construction expertise, creates a capability that is unparalleled.”

“Saipem has a strategic interest in Australia as well as strong international expertise in urea and ammonia,” said Alessandro Tattini, APAC Area Manager for Saipem Onshore.

“Partnering with a company lie Clough, that has been delivering projects for more than a century is very important to us. This joint venture looks forward to bringing one of the largest urea projects in the world into production for Perdaman.”

Image courtesy of Perdaman

Read the article online at: https://www.worldfertilizer.com/project-news/01072020/perdaman-agrees-epc-terms-for-karratha-urea-project/