| Daniel Lim |
THE ground breaking ceremony for the first fertiliser factory in the country was held yesterday at the Sungai Liang Industrial Park (SPARK) in Kuala Belait.
A collaborative effort by the Brunei Fertilizer Industries (BFI) and Germany-based worldwide engineering and construction services provider Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions AG (tkIS), the fertiliser plant seeks to utilise Brunei’s abundance of natural gas to further develop the country’s downstream activities in petrochemical industry.
Present to witness and officiate at the ground breaking ceremony as the guest of honour was Minister of Finance II Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew bin Abdullah, who was accompanied by Deputy Minister of Finance Dato Seri Paduka Awang Ahmaddin bin Haji Abdul Rahman.
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Brunei Darussalam Peter Hermann Wolff; CEO of tkIS Brunei Joerg Schiemann; CEO of Fertilizer and Syngas Technologies Business Unit of tkIS Ralf Richmann as well as several senior government officials and executives from BFI and tkIS were also present.
The ceremony started with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah, followed by brief speeches by Joerg Schiemann and Ralf Richmann.
Following the speeches, a short video presentation showcased the expertise offered by Thyssenkrupp and how this will be utilised in realising the vision of the new fertiliser production facility at the SPARK site.
The ground breaking ceremony ensued which saw the guest of honour and the invited guests pour cement into one of the moulds that will form the foundation of the facility.
The project aims to help better utilise the Sultanate’s natural gas. Thyssenkrupp was selected by Brunei Fertilizer Industries back in 2017 to lead the design, procurement and construction of the greenfield fertiliser production plant.
Slated to be completed in 2021, the plant is envisioned to be a fully integrated with a state-of-the-art fertiliser complex capable of producing 2,200 tonnes of ammonia and 3,900 tonnes of urea per day. It will use part of Brunei’s large natural gas reserves as feedstock to produce high-quality nitrogen fertiliser mainly for the export market.
Recognised by TIME magazine as one of the 25 best innovators in 2017, Thyssenkrupp will lend their expertise in engineering, equipment supply, construction, supervision of construction and commissioning as well as provide various off-site services to fully realise the project.
The fertiliser plant will enable the country to create further value for its natural gas resources by developing downstream industries in the oil and gas sector beyond the existing production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and methanol while the ammonia and urea produced from BFI will also be able to create further downstream opportunities, including the production of urea formaldehyde and melamine.
These by-products also present potential for spin-off industries such as in the manufacturing of fibre board, wood furniture and tableware.
The further growth of the downstream oil and gas industry is in line with the economic diversification agenda of the country, alongside the development of other priority investment clusters in the Halal industry, technology and creative industries, business services and tourism.