Perdaman has announced the commencement of its A$6 billion Pilbara urea project, which is set to be the first new gas manufacturing project in the Pilbara region in over ten years. The facility, located 20 kilometres north-west of Karratha, Western Australia, will convert natural gas from Woodside’s Scarborough Gas Project into an estimated 2.3 million tonnes of urea per annum.
It is estimated the Perdaman Urea Project will create 2,500 jobs during construction and 200 operational jobs.
The plant will utilise feedstock from Woodside under a 20-year agreement and has a 20-year offtake agreement with Incitec Pivot. As the largest urea plant in Australia and one of the largest in the world, this project is a significant investment in Australia’s manufacturing sector.
Urea is an essential component in the agricultural fertiliser market, and the plant’s expected production will help to address the growing demand for high-quality fertilisers while reducing the nation’s reliance on imports and enhancing national resilience.
The project has been designed to minimise both industrial emissions and the carbon footprint of fertiliser production, with a commitment to making the urea plant net carbon zero by 2050. The urea plant incorporates the latest technology with optimised energy efficiency and low emissions.
The Western Australian Government has allocated Project of State Significance status to the project, and the funding is supported by leading global independent infrastructure investor Global Infrastructure Partners, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility and Export Finance Australia.
Construction of the Project is set to commence immediately and will be managed by Perdaman’s EPC joint-venture partners Saipem and Webuild. Vikas Rambal, Chairman and CEO of Perdaman, said, “We are excited to be constructing Australia’s largest-ever downstream manufacturing project, which represents a significant investment in Australia’s manufacturing sector.
This state-of-the-art facility will help to ensure that Australia has a secure and reliable source of high-quality urea, supporting our nation’s farmers and food producers.”