L&T Completes Fabrication and Delivery of 110 Modules for Australia’s Largest Urea Plant

Mumbai:Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has completed the fabrication and delivery of 110 modules, weighing approximately 64,000 metric tonnes, for Project CERES, Australia’s largest urea manufacturing plant with a capacity of 2.3 MTPA. The project is being developed by Perdaman Chemicals & Fertilisers in Karratha, Western Australia, under the Saipem-Clough Joint Venture.

L&T’s scope comprised 47 Pre-assembled Units and 63 Pre-assembled Racks, fabricated at the Company’s Modular Fabrication Facility at Kattupalli, near Chennai, India. The modules were shipped from India to Karratha across 23 marine shipments in fully tested, pre-commissioned and ready-to-install condition.

Project CERES is a landmark demonstration of modularisation capability in India by L&T, illustrating how substantial portions of a major project can be built thousands of kilometres away from their destination. Fabrication, equipment installation, integration, testing and pre-commissioning were undertaken in a controlled environment, enabling parallel execution, greater oversight of safety and quality, improved predictability and fewer interfaces at the project site.

Commenting on the achievement, S N Subrahmanyan, Chairman & Managing Director, Larsen & Toubro, said: “Project CERES reflects how L&T is elevating India’s role in the global project-delivery ecosystem, from a manufacturing base to a source of integrated engineering, technology and execution capabilities. Delivering modular fabrication of this scale, with an excellent safety record, for Australia, demonstrates the depth of India’s industrial ecosystem and its ability to meet demanding international standards. The landmark achievement strengthens L&T’s position as a trusted global partner and reinforces India’s potential to become a leading hub for complex modular solutions”.

Subramanian Sarma, Deputy Managing Director & President, Larsen & Toubro, said: “Modularisation is a game changer in the delivery of large and complex energy projects. By shifting substantial construction, integration, testing and pre-commissioning activities from the project site to a controlled fabrication environment, it enables parallel execution, strengthens safety and quality oversight, improves predictability and reduces complexity at site. Project CERES demonstrates how engineering, procurement, fabrication and international logistics can be integrated into a single delivery model to execute world-scale projects with greater certainty”.

The project achieved 37 million safe workhours and met stringent Australian biosecurity and Electrical Equipment in Hazardous Areas requirements. Rigorous dimensional, quality and interface controls supported the successful integration of the modules at the Karratha project site. Many of the complex equipment, integrated into the modules, were fabricated at L&T’s advanced manufacturing facility at Hazira in Gujarat.

Project CERES was executed from L&T’s Modular Fabrication Facility at Kattupalli, India’s largest module fabrication yard. Spread across 900,000 square metres, the waterfront facility has dedicated marine load-out infrastructure and an annual fabrication capacity exceeding 70,000 metric tonnes. The facility has supported large-scale onshore and offshore projects across multiple geographies and sectors, with Project CERES further strengthening its credentials as a global hub for large-scale modular fabrication.

The scale and experience demonstrated through Project CERES have relevance well beyond the urea sector. Modularisation can support projects across LNG, gas processing, refining, petrochemicals, chemicals, hydrogen, low-carbon fuels and other energy sectors, particularly where remote locations, constrained construction environments, skilled-labour availability and schedule certainty are critical considerations.