Seoul based Samsung Engineering Co Ltd has commissioned Uhde to provide extensive licensing, engineering and supply services within the scope of a large plant contract which Ruwais Fertilizer Industries from Abu Dhabi has awarded the South Korean company.

Samsung Engineering is designing and constructing a new turnkey ammonia and urea plant, worth approximately USD 1.2 billion, for FERTIL in Ruwais in the emirate of Abu Dhabi on the Arabian Gulf. The fertilizer complex FERTIL II, which has a production capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day of ammonia and 3,500 tonnes per day of urea, is scheduled to be commissioned in 2013.

The urea fertiliser production from these new plants will increase FERTIL’s annual production by more than 1 million tonnes and will be used to serve the export markets. Natural gas obtained from the host country will be used as feedstock.

The Uhde proprietary ammonia process will be used in the ammonia plant whilst the urea plant will operate using the Stamicarbon synthesis process from the Netherlands. The licence for the urea granulation comes from Uhde Fertilizer Technology in the Netherlands, which took over the exclusive licensing rights to the fluidised bed granulation process from Yara Fertilizer Technology in 2005. All processes selected are particularly eco friendly and conform to high local and European standards.

The scope of the Uhde contract covers the process licence, substantial parts of the design engineering, the supply of special equipment, and support during the construction and commissioning of the plant. The contract is worth a three-figure million Euro sum for Uhde.

Mr Lothar Jungemann, Uhde Executive Board member responsible for the fertilizer division said “This contract is proof once again of the high level of trust that the fertilizer industry bestows upon Uhde and its technological leadership of its plants, and confirms yet again just how satisfied our customers and partners are with our service,” said

This is the second fertilizer complex construction project which Samsung and Uhde will work on together. Two years ago, Samsung Engineering commissioned Uhde to provide a similar scope of supply and services for a turnkey ammonia plant. This is currently being built in Ras Az Zawr, approximately 400 km northeast of the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh.