Pampa approves Bahía Blanca urea FID, awards MAIRE

Fértil Pampa S.A.U., Pampa’s wholly owned subsidiary, will build the facility on an 80 hectare site in the Bahía Blanca Industrial Complex in southern Buenos Aires Province. The complex will comprise a large scale ammonia plant and a two train granular urea unit with combined capacity of 6,000 tonnes per day, or 2.1 million tonnes per year, alongside desalination, storage silos and new port logistics for truck and vessel loading.

Italy’s MAIRE Group has been awarded a major contract through its subsidiary Tecnimont to handle engineering, procurement, commissioning and start up. Nextchem, via Stamicarbon, will supply urea melt and granulation technologies and the Process Design Package, with proprietary equipment and a primary reformer from KT Tech, while KBR provides the ammonia technology. SACDE will lead construction. MAIRE values its scope at about €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion), including €140 million ($150 million) for Nextchem’s technology package.

The plant’s location gives direct access to the Vaca Muerta gas pipeline system, Pampa’s thermal and wind generation assets, and one of Argentina’s main export ports. Natural gas and electricity, which Pampa expects largely to supply internally, account for around 70% of urea production costs, underpinning the company’s vertically integrated model. Pampa projects about US$1 billion a year in foreign currency benefits through import substitution and exports, with Brazil – importing 7–8 million tonnes of urea annually – identified as the primary market.

At peak, construction is expected to create more than 3,500 direct jobs, plus significant indirect employment; once operational, the plant will employ around 300 people, with Fértil Pampa prioritising local hiring in Bahía Blanca and the surrounding region. The company has applied for Argentina’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) and the Province of Buenos Aires’s Strategic Investment Regime (REPIE), describing approvals as essential for the project and reserving rights under its turnkey contract with SACDE and Tecnimont if RIGI is not granted.

“This represents the largest investment in Pampa’s history and the most significant project we have undertaken in many years,” said Marcelo Mindlin, Chairman of Pampa Energía. “This plant will provide Argentina with a reliable and competitive domestic supply of urea while creating new export opportunities across the region and international markets.”

Alessandro Bernini, CEO of MAIRE, added: “This award marks our entry in Argentina, further diversifying our geographical footprint… We are proud to contribute to the development of this strategic fertilizer complex in the region, which will support the monetization of natural gas reserves in the domestic downstream sector, and also strengthen the country’s fertilizer production.”