McDermott awarded FEED contract for ACE green ammonia project in US

Construction player McDermott has secured the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for Ascension Clean Energy (ACE), a global-scale clean ammonia production and export project in Louisiana.

Located in Ascension Parish, the project is jointly developed by energy company Clean Hydrogen Works (CHW) and strategic shareholders ExxonMobil, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and Hafnia. The projected investment of the ACE project is US$7.5 billion.

Whe first phase of the project is expected to deliver 2.4 million tonnes/year of clean ammonia by 2028-2029, with expansion in subsequent stages to 7.2 million tonnes/year.

With carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) contracts with ExxonMobil, regulatory approvals expected by early 2025, off-take in advanced discussions, and Goldman Sachs as a financial advisor, the project is expected to reach a final investment decision (FID) by late 2025 and start production in 2029.

Under an engineering services agreement, McDermott will provide FEED, plus engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) estimating and execution planning services for this project. The work will be led from McDermott’s Houston office with support from its Gurugram, India office.