NOC QatarEnergy subsidiaries QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions and Qatar Fertiliser Company (Qafco) have awarded an EPC contract for a 1.2mn t/yr blue ammonia project in Mesaieed Industrial City, Qatar.

The EPC contract for the $1bn project—the largest of its type in the world—was awarded to a consortium of Germany’s Thyssenkrupp and construction firm Consolidated Contractors Company.

The project is called Ammonia-7 and has a targeted startup date of Q1 2026, according to Saad al-Kaabi, CEO of QatarEnergy.

“Ammonia-7 is a landmark project for Qatar and for the industry as a whole. It builds on our expertise in installing, operating and maintaining conventional ammonia plants to produce fertilisers,” he says. “Our investment in this project speaks to the concrete steps we are taking to lower the carbon intensity of our energy products.”

$1bn – Estimated cost of Ammonia-7 project

QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions will develop and manage integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) facilities capable of capturing and sequestering about 1.5mn t/yr CO₂ from the plant, as well as supplying more than 35MW of renewable electricity to the facility from a solar farm currently under construction. The firm will also lead the process for certification and be the sole offtaker and marketer of all the blue ammonia produced by the facility.

Qafco is the world’s largest integrated single-site producer of ammonia and urea, with a current production capacity of approximately 4mn t/yr of ammonia and 6mn t/yr of urea.  

Wider strategy

The investment, the plant and the expanded CCS facilities are part of a wider move by QatarEnergy to decarbonise its portfolio.

The firm’s strategy stipulates multiple initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including building 5GW of solar power and further deployment of CCS technology to capture over 11mn t/yr of CO₂ in Qatar by 2035. These projects will further reduce the carbon intensity of Qatar’s LNG facilities by 35pc, and of its upstream facilities by at least 25pc.

Qatar—the world’s second largest LNG exporter—has joined Saudi Arabia and the UAE in looking to expand into the hydrogen industry. Last year, the country signed an agreement with South Korea to cooperate on hydrogen technology and supply chains.

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Author: Tom Young