KBRGREENER AMMONIA

TECHNOLOGY

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KBR IS DRIVING GLOBAL ENERGY TRANSITION INITIATIVES THROUGH ITS GREEN AND BLUE AMMONIA TECHNOLOGIES.

PROJECT MANAGED BY: TREVOR GRETSINGER

GREENERAMMONIATECHNOLOGYKBR offers high-end engineering, science and technology solutions to businesses and governments around the world.

all of our business lines,” explains Aman Ahmad, Senior Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development at KBR. “We have won process technology awards in ammonia, refining, petrochemicals, and inorganics for both greenfield and revamps. We have also secured impressive wins in our digitalization and advisory businesses, as we drive greater focus on how to help clients navigate a post-Covid environment.”

Talking with Ahmad, it is clear there is one project, in particular that he is very excited about.

“Energy transition has taken center-stage in our industry as we see companies pivot to establish first- mover advantage. We were thrilled to be awarded the first green ammonia project in Oman,” Ahmad tells us. “There are a lot of announcements around blue and green ammonia at the moment, but this is the

first project slated to come onstream. It’s a testament not just to our superior technology but also our growth in the sustainable technology sector.”

Under the terms of the new contract, KBR will provide technology licencing, engineering, proprietary equipment, catalyst, and commissioning services for a plant that will produce 300 metric tonnes per day of ammonia. It will be an integrated facility that produces green ammonia using solar and wind energy.

“We are honoured to be selected by ACME Group for this ambitious project,” Kelly said when the contract was announced. “Energy transition, driven by green ammonia, is a reality and KBR will play a pivotal role in helping innovative companies like ACME establish early-mover advantages through our industry-leading technology.”

Aman Ahmad, Senior Vice President, Global Sales & Business Development at KBR

The firm’s Sustainable Technology Solutions business offers high-

end advisory, process technologies, engineering, and digitalization solutions to the fertiliser, refining, chemicals and inorganics sectors. KBR boasts an enviable portfolio of intellectual property and patents, developed internally and alongside its partners, with over 60 technologies to offer to the industry.

We could not help but be impressed when we talked to KBR’s President for Technology, Doug Kelly, last year. Since then, the company has continued to go from strength to strength.

“We’ve had a great year, overall. We’ve continued to win projects all over the world and equally impressively across

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“WHAT’S MOST EXCITING IS THAT OUR TECHNOLOGY WAS RECENTLY AWARDED THE FIRST GREEN AMMONIA PROJECT IN OMAN.”PARTNERING PROFITAND SUSTAINABILITYThe green ammonia project is just another feather in the cap during a year already marked by repeated successes and achievements. This year, KBR has been awarded the first major petrochemical project in Europe for almost two decades, built by PKN ORLEN, where KBR’s technology will be used for the project’s ethylene plant.

This project is an iconic example of KBR’s strengths, as it shows how the company’s technology balances growth with sustainability, even in regions heavily influenced by environmental regulations.

“PKN ORLEN has ambitious ESG goals. Using innovative refining and petrochemical integration concepts and technologies, we are helping them achieve portfolio growth and diversification while decarbonizing existing assets,” Ahmad explains. “This is where we excel – partnering profit and sustainability.”

In the sustainability area, KBR has made exciting progress in its plastics recycling technology, in partnership with Mura.

“Doug [Kelly] may have said it was a gamechanger when he spoke to you last time, and he couldn’t have put it better,” Ahmad tells us. “The chemistry embedded in this technology is what sets it apart to attain total circularity at lower energy requirements as has been demonstrated through several studies we have executed this year for clients all over the world. Recently we have announced awards by Mitsubishi and ORLEN and we see tremendous adoption of this technology in the coming years – it will be a gamechanger!”

That KBR is growing and gaining recognition in these sectors is great for the business, as Ahmad believes sustainable technologies will only be in more demand going forward and it’s a trend, where he sees KBR continue to increase focus.

“In fact, we have been focused on sustainability for the past several years,” he acknowledges. “Our technology portfolio growth has centred around developing, acquiring, or partnering in technologies that we believed would enable decarbonisation. Our solid alkylation technology and fluidized-bed PDH technology are just two examples, where we are revolutionizing conventional processes towards much higher degrees of safety and sustainability.”

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It is also a trend that Ahmad believes uniquely positions KBR to help its clients in the future.

“Just like digitalisation, implementing decarbonisation and sustainability initiatives requires careful assessment, especially in brownfield assets,” he explains. “By leveraging our domain expertise, we help our clients develop a phased investment plan and score some quick wins through low-cost initiatives such as energy optimisation and integrating assets.”

KBR is asking how it can help customers in the energy transition arena as the world’s largest licensor for ammonia technology.

“Energy transition is redefining the scale of ammonia plants and we see ourselves as leading the industry towards larger capacities,” says Ahmad. “We have a legacy of pushing the boundaries of scale, de-risking higher capacities, bringing our supply-chain along, and above all delivering on our promises. We are already offering a 6,000 MTPD plant – a single-train – and working on

higher capacities. The demand projections are exponential, and we are ready to scale.”

KBR, Ahmad believes, is uniquely equipped to help, thanks to its integrated business structure.

“Where we are truly unique compared to our peers is our ability to bring everything together under one umbrella,” he says. “From conceptualising the project at the very beginning to digitizing operations, we have the knowledge, experience, and systems in place to deliver smart projects. That is a truly unique value proposition.”

Ahmad puts this down to the hard work KBR put into transforming itself during the Covid crisis.

“Last year, during Covid, when companies were shrinking their capital budgets and the energy sector was in a slump, we carried out a rapid strategic reengineering of our business to adapt to the new status quo,” Ahmad says. “Our agility and resilience during that period have enabled us to align our vision and differentiation with our clients’ objectives moving forward.”

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