KBR wins major Sabic ammonia plant license for 1.2mt Jubail project

Sabic Agri-Nutrients has selected KBR’s Purifier technology for a new Sabic ammonia plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia, the U.S. engineering and technology company said on Sept. 29, 2026. The grassroots, single-train unit is designed to produce 3,500 metric tons per day, or about 1.2 million metric tons of ammonia a year.

KBR will provide the technology license, basic engineering design, proprietary equipment and catalyst. The project is expected to raise Sabic Agri-Nutrients’ urea capacity from 4.8 million to 7.4 million metric tons per year, KBR said. The company described the award as one of the largest-capacity ammonia plants licensed in the kingdom and its largest ammonia license by capacity in the Middle East and Africa. KBR also said the Purifier configuration gives a lower carbon intensity per ton of ammonia than conventional process designs. Its statement gave no contract value or start-up date.

The 2.6 million metric tons of added urea capacity matches the expansion Sabic outlined in August, when it signed a three-year fertilizer agreement with Maaden. The ammonia award follows a separate urea technology selection. On Sept. 15, Maire’s Nextchem said its licensor Stamicarbon would supply the urea technology package for Sabic Agri-Nutrients’ SAN-7 complex, with a total value of EUR 125 million (USD 141 million), World Fertilizer reported.

The new Sabic ammonia plant would add to nitrogen export capacity on the Persian Gulf coast. Product from Jubail moves through the Strait of Hormuz, a route whose disruption has driven fertilizer price volatility this year. The next milestones to watch are the engineering, procurement and construction award and a confirmed construction schedule.