KBR wins Iraq ammonia technology deal

28 December 2011

US firm to provide ammonia technology for Iraq fertiliser plant

US engineering firm KBR has won a contract to revamp its North Fertiliser Plant at Baiji in the north of Iraq.

KBR will provide a license for its ammonia production process and related engineering services to debottleneck the plant and increase capacity to 120 per cent of the original design, according to a 22 December press release.

KBR says it was awarded the deal by First Global Company. The plant is operated by State Company for Fertilisers.

The plant started production in 1989 and was designed to produce 1,000 tonnes a day (t/d) of ammonia along with 525,000 tonnes a year (t/y) of urea. However, according to the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, the plant currently only produces ammonia at 57 per cent of its design capacity and urea at 70 per cent capacity.

The ministry estimates the cost of rehabilitating the plant at $85m in addition to the cost of supplying and installing a 10 megawatt (MW) power generator, estimated at $10m.

The deal is part of the ministry’s new approach of rehabilitating its facilities in cooperation with international investors. State Company for Fertilisers is one of the ministry’s subsidiaries, which have been tasked with attracting investment.

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