US engineering company KBR has won a contract to supply its Purifier(R) ammonia technology for a 3,500 metric-tons-per-day (MTPD) ammonia plant that SABIC Agri-Nutrients (SABIC AN) is developing in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, according to a report dated 29 September 2026. KBR is said to describe the award as its largest ammonia technology license by capacity in the Middle East and Africa.
Under the contract, KBR is reported to provide technology licensing, basic engineering design (BED), proprietary equipment, catalyst supply and technical support. The plant is the ammonia unit of a new fertilizer expansion by SABIC AN, and the EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contract was previously awarded to Samsung E&A. That EPC award, made public on 10 September 2026, is said to cover one ammonia plant, two urea plants and a carbon capture unit.
The ammonia plant has a capacity of 3,500 MTPD, equivalent to about 1.2 million tonnes per year. On completion, SABIC AN’s urea capacity is reported to rise from 4.8 million to 7.4 million tonnes per year. The earlier EPC contract was valued at USD 3.465 billion.
The project is part of Saudi Arabia’s fertilizer capacity expansion under Vision 2030, and the selection of ammonia technology is a key step toward detailed design.
Large fertilizer projects typically proceed with the EPC contract followed by successive confirmation of core process licenses, and this award is one step in that sequence. Urea technology for the same project is reportedly sourced from separate licensors, showing that large projects often split technology supply by process unit. The emphasis on lower carbon intensity as a selection factor reflects broader decarbonization demands in the fertilizer industry. A single 3,500 MTPD train also illustrates the continuing move toward scale.
Watch when KBR’s basic design is completed and how it is coordinated with Samsung E&A’s detailed design. It will also be of interest whether the integration of the carbon capture unit with the ammonia process is detailed. The completion and commercial production timelines are also to be confirmed as construction progresses.