MAIRE said the 41-month project will use Nextchem and KBR technologies and produce 2.1 million tons of granular urea a year, making it Latin America's largest urea plant by production.
Tecnimont, a subsidiary of MAIRE, has been awarded a contract by Fértil Pampa S.A.U., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pampa Energia S.A., for a large-scale fertilizer complex in Argentina with a total value of about €1.3 billion. The project includes a large-scale ammonia plant and two parallel ultra-low energy urea trains, each with its own granulation unit, for combined output of 6,000 metric tons per day, or 2.1 million tons per year, of granular urea. MAIRE said that would make it the largest urea plant in Latin America by production once completed in 41 months. The site will cover 80 hectares within the Bahía Blanca Industrial Complex in Buenos Aires Province and is positioned next to Pampa's existing power generation assets with access to gas pipelines, high-voltage transmission lines, water intake systems and a deep-water export port. Tecnimont's work covers engineering, procurement, commissioning and start-up, while Nextchem will provide technology through Stamicarbon's urea melt and granulation licensing technologies, the Process Design Package (plant engineering blueprint), related proprietary equipment and the primary reformer for syngas (gas mixture used to make ammonia) production by KT Tech. KBR will provide ammonia technology. Of the total contract value, €140 million is tied to Nextchem's technology package, which was awarded in Q2 2026. Construction will involve SACDE S.A., and MAIRE said the project is expected to create more than 3,500 direct jobs at peak construction, alongside indirect employment across the supply chain. CEO Alessandro Bernini said the award marks MAIRE's entry in Argentina, broadens the group's geographical footprint and supports the monetization of natural gas reserves in the domestic downstream sector while strengthening the country's fertilizer production.