News: WDS Perdaman breaks ground on $4 billion urea plant in Western Australia

SYDNEY, April 26 (Reuters) - Industrial chemical producer Perdaman has broken ground on a A$6 billion ($3.96 billion) in Western Australia with the help of a A$2.1 billion equity investment from Global Infrastructure Partners, Perdaman said on Wednesday.

Perdaman aims to produce 2.3 million tonnes of urea annually at a site near Karratha in Australia's northwest, around half of which is destined for Asia, Brazil and the United States. Urea is an organic chemical typically used to make fertilisers.

Global Infrastructure Partners, which manages $89 billion globally, will provide equity financing alongside Export Finance Australia (EFA), Perdaman said. A separate release from the Western Australia government said 12 commercial lenders are involved and that EFA will provide a A$269 million loan.

“We are excited to be constructing Australia’s largest ever downstream manufacturing project which represents a significant investment in Australia’s manufacturing sector,” said Vikas Rambal, Chief Executive of Perdaman.

The project will use natural gas from Woodside Energy's (WDS) under-development Scarborough Gas project. A 20-year agreement to supply 130 terajoules per day once the plant is commissioned in 2026 or 2027 was also announced on Wednesday.

The project is being built on the Burrup Peninsula, where an Indigenous group has raised concerns about the impact emissions from the plant could have on ancient indigenous rock art.

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek approved the project in August, saying the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation backed the plant and represented the majority view of traditional owners in the area.

Raelene Cooper, a member of a separate Indigenous group that opposed the project, condemned the removal of sacred rock art required by the plant.

"It is incredible, remarkable, and absolutely disgraceful -how do these people sleep at night?” she said in an emailed statement. ($1 = 1.5135 Australian dollars)