Contract awardRefining, petrochemicals and fertilisers
Profertil selects Saipem and Techint for Argentina fertiliser expansion studies
An 11-month technical-services assignment will evaluate a proposed 4,450-tonne-per-day urea plant and prepare the basis for further development.
- Event
- First published on EPC Feed
- Sources
- 1 listed below
- Reading time
- 2 min
Profertil has selected Saipem for technical services supporting the evaluation of an expansion of its fertiliser complex in Argentina. Saipem announced the award on 29 September 2026 and will work with Techint Engineering & Construction. The proposed development includes a new urea plant with a capacity of 4,450 tonnes per day. This is a stated daily production capacity for the contemplated facility, rather than a confirmed annual output or a declaration that construction has started.
The assignment is expected to last 11 months. Its scope includes technical services, the integration of licensors' design packages and preparation of a structured proposal for later project development. The announcement identifies the technologies around which that work will be organised: Topsoe for ammonia, Saipem for urea and thyssenkrupp Uhde for granulation. It does not disclose the value of the services contract or a final investment decision for the expansion.
That combination places coordination between the process packages at the centre of the present stage. Ammonia production, urea synthesis and granulation represent connected parts of the proposed production chain. EPC Feed's interpretation is that the studies will need to establish a coherent basis for evaluating those interfaces, rather than treating the nameplate capacity of a single plant as a complete description of the expansion.
The participation of Techint alongside Saipem is relevant to how the technical proposal will be assembled. However, the release does not allocate a complete construction work breakdown between the partners. A later engineering or execution award would need its own disclosed scope and terms. The present selection should therefore remain recorded as technical development work, with the prospective plant capacity kept separate from a committed construction schedule or an assumed capital budget.
For suppliers and project observers, the useful milestone is the preparation of information that can support subsequent decisions. The 11-month period describes the services assignment, not the time required to build or commission the contemplated plant. Further announcements would be needed to establish whether Profertil proceeds, how the expansion is contracted and when any physical works begin. Recording the project at this stage preserves a clear sequence from evaluation through any eventual execution decision.
Sources
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