BAKU, Azerbaijan, September
29. Italian engineering and energy services
company Saipem has been awarded an engineering services contract by
Profertil S.A. to support the evaluation of a planned expansion of
its fertilizer production complex in Argentina, according to
information provided by Saipem.
The project envisages the development of a new urea plant with a
production capacity of 4,450 tonnes per day, aimed at increasing
domestic fertilizer production and meeting growing demand in
Argentina and regional markets. Saipem will carry out the
activities in partnership with Techint Engineering & Construction,
combining the companies' engineering and project-development
capabilities.
The planned facility will integrate Topsoe's ammonia production
technology, Saipem's proprietary Snamprogetti™ Urea technology and
thyssenkrupp Uhde's granulation technology. Saipem's scope covers
technical services, preparation of licensors' design packages and a
structured proposal for the subsequent phases of project
development. The contract is expected to run for 11 months.
"The project represents another step in Saipem's long-standing
collaboration with Profertil and in our commitment to providing
advanced technologies for the fertilizer industry," Saipem
said.
The company added that the combination of the technologies is
intended to support an efficient and reliable production scheme for
the planned expansion.
The project builds on Saipem's previous involvement in the
Profertil fertilizer complex in Bahía Blanca. Saipem's website says
the complex, completed in 2001, was at the time the world's largest
single-train urea plant, with a capacity of 3,250 tonnes per day.
The facility comprises an ammonia unit with a capacity of 2,050
tonnes per day, a 3,250-tonne-per-day urea unit and two granulation
units, each with a capacity of 1,850 tonnes per day.
The planned 4,450-tonne-per-day unit would therefore have a 37%
higher nominal urea capacity than the original Profertil
single-train unit.
Saipem has a long history in urea technology, dating back to the
development of its Snamprogetti™ Urea process in 1962. The company
currently says its technology has been adopted in more than 140
units worldwide, while its plants produce around one-third of
global urea output.
Saipem's technology portfolio includes solutions designed to
improve energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of
urea production. The company says its Snamprogetti™ Urea technology
has a high on-stream factor and incorporates technologies aimed at
reducing emissions and improving process efficiency.
The company's recent fertilizer projects also include a new urea
plant in Turkmenistan, for which Saipem was awarded a license and
related engineering services in March 2026. That unit is designed
for 3,500 tonnes per day, further expanding the company's recent
work in large-scale fertilizer production.
Saipem has also been involved in some of the world's largest
urea facilities. Its QAFCO V and VI projects in Qatar have a
combined capacity of 7,700 tonnes per day, while its Ceres project
in Australia is designed to produce 2.14 million tonnes of urea
annually.
