Technip Lands FEED Contract for Potential $700M Plant Expansion

Technip, a global project management, engineering and construction firm targeting the energy industry, has announced it was awarded the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract by The Mosaic Group for a new ammonia plant under consideration by Mosaic.

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Technip, a global project management, engineering and construction firm targeting the energy industry, has announced The Mosaic Group has awarded it the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for a new ammonia plant currently under consideration.

According to The Advocate, the new facility would be located adjacent to the Faustina plant in St.James Parish and will cost around $700 million. If Mosaic decides to go forward with the build, construction would probably start in 2014. The plant could be operational by early 2016 and would generate 53 new direct jobs with average salaries of $83,000 per year. 366 indirect jobs would also be created by the expansion, while around 1,400 workers would be employed during construction. The State of Louisiana is also offering a $3 million, five-year Modernization Tax Credit as well as job training services, to attract the development.

Mosaic is the world’s largest producer of finished phosphate products, with annual production capacity greater than the next two largest producers combined. The company plans to integrate more fully into ammonia production by expanding its present capacity at Faustina. The proposed expansion would increase production capacity to 2,200 metric tons per day – almost triple its current output. Mosaic already has two facilities in the Greater Baton Rouge Area: the Faustina fertilizer manufacturing facility on the west side of the Mississippi River and Uncle Sam on the river’s eastern bank.

According to a press release, the plant’s design will feature Haldor Topsøe’ proprietary ammonia process technology that Technip has utilized for the past 40 years. Technip will also be in charge of preparing the corresponding engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) proposal including preliminary design work for plant offsite, interconnections, utilities and various supporting units for the facility.

The FEED contract will be executed by the Houston office of Technip in collaboration with the Technip engineering center located in Rome, Italy. Both FEED and EPC proposals begin in November 2012 and are expected to complete by mid-2013, when Mosaic will make the final decision regarding the expansion.

Photo courtesy of Sharon Loxton via Wikimedia Commons

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