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Maaden awards Samsung $590m contract for plant

JEDDAH — Samsung Engineering Co., Ltd. of South Korea has been awarded a $590 million contract by Maaden, the Saudi Arabian Mining Company.

The ammonia plant will form part of one of the world's largest fully integrated fertiliser production operations in a joint venture project between Maaden and Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corp. (Sabic) to mine world-scale phosphate reserves in the north of the country to produce fertilisers at the new purpose-built processing facility in Ras Az Zawr, some 400km north-east of the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

The facility will also comprise a sulphuric acid plant, a phosphoric acid plant and two diammonium phosphate plants. The project, including the ammonia plant, is due for completion in late 2010.

According to information made available to Khaleej Times here, Samsung has commissioned Uhde to provide the licence and comprehensive engineering and supply services as part of the contract for the engineering and construction of the turnkey ammonia plant.

"This new contract is the logical continuation of our technological leadership in the field of mega size ammonia plants and an indication of the excellent reputation enjoyed by Uhde in the Saudi Arabian industrial sector," said Klaus Schneiders, Chairman of Uhde's Executive Board.

Uhde's scope of services includes the processing of licence and basic engineering as well as the supply of special equipment for a single-train ammonia plant, which, with a production capacity of 3,300 tonnes per day. For Uhde, the contract is worth a sum in the three-figure millions of Euros.

The statement explained that Maaden has decided in favour of the Uhde Dual-Pressure Process as the technology to be used in the ammonia plant. It is a particularly reliable and environment-friendly plant concept which enables single-train ammonia plants with capacities of 3,000 to 4,000 tonnes per day to be built. In late 2006 Uhde successfully commissioned an almost identical ammonia plant in Saudi Arabia for Saudi Arabian Fertiliser Company (Safco), an affiliate of Sabic.