India's L&T Wins $210 Million EPC Order for Gujarat Feedstock Conversion Venture

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Larsen & Toubro Limited (BSE:500510) (L&T) (Mumbai) has won a $210 million order from Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers Company Limited (BSE:500670) (GNFC) (Narmadanagar, Gujarat) for a 1,120-ton-per-day ammonia equivalent, natural-gas-fed synthetic gas (syngas) generation plant at Bharuch in Gujarat. The lump-sum contract to be executed on a turnkey basis also covers the process technology required for the venture. L&T will employ the widely used syngas technology from Haldor Topsoe (Lyngby, Denmark) at the GNFC facility.

Under the deal, L&T's Engineering & Construction Division will perform basic design and detail engineering for the project, in addition to procurement and construction activities. It also will integrate the new infrastructure with the existing plant and take up testing and pre-commissioning tasks before commissioning the project, thereby guaranteeing the performance of the facility. The scope of the contract includes licensing of process technology and knowledge transfer.

According to a directive from the Indian government, fertilizer manufacturers are required to convert their existing plants running on fuel oil/low-sulfur heavy stock to natural-gas-based plants to increase the energy efficiency of the ammonia production process.

The syngas technology from Topsoe is capable of handling a wide range of feedstocks, and the high energy efficiency of the process is reported to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide. The syngas process comprises feed purification, pre-reforming, tubular reforming, convection reforming, heat-exchange reforming, and auto-thermal reforming. Topsoe also offers custom catalysts and specialized equipment that are specific to the process solution employed. Process features and parameter settings also are customizable.

L&T's expertise in executing turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) ventures for process industries such as chemicals, petrochemicals, refineries and fertilizers was the main selection criteria for this venture, where the company faced competition from other global EPC firms. L&T's track record in the fertilizer segment includes several expansions, revamps and fully integrated greenfield ventures related to urea and ammonia manufacturing, both within and outside the country. This project of L&T for GNFC will have the distinction of being the first feedstock conversion venture in the country.

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