Project Haber (Archived)

February 27th, 2024

Project Haber

Project Haber is a proposed ammonia/granulated urea manufacturing facility to be constructed in the Mid West region of Western Australia, designed to produce and potentially consume significant quantities of renewables-based hydrogen feedstock.

Main proponents:

Strike Energy

 Main end-use classification:

Industrial process – ammonia and urea production

 Status:

Archived

 Estimated cost:

 
Other involvement:

 

 Production details:

1,825 tonnes per annum (based on initial 10-megawatt electrolyser installation) with potential to displace 100% of methane-linked hydrogen with renewables-based hydrogen production once that market matures.

 Location:

Western Australia, Australia

 Announced funding:

 

Project description

Strike Energy is developing Project Haber, an 800,000 tonnes per annum ammonia / 1.4 million tonnes per annum urea production facility, planned to be located in the Mid West region of Western Australia.

After completion of feasibility and pre-FEED studies on Project Haber, during the course of 2022 the project proponent commenced FEED early works, primarily focused on environmental approvals and consolidating the FEED basis of design, and progressed the FEED/EPC tender process. In October 2022, the project proponent announced several key project developments, including:

  • Award of the FEED contract to Technip Energies
  • Award of the Owner’s Engineering Package to Wood
  • Submittal of the environmental referral for the project for the Part IV environmental approvals from the Western Australian Environmental Protection Agency

Strike undertook a urea offtake process in 2021 with responses from a Request for Proposal (RFP) process in excess of its planned production capacity of 1.4 million tonnes urea per annum. In May 2022, Strike Energy announced that it had completed its competitive fertiliser offtake process by agreeing to a non-binding term sheet and exclusive negotiation period with a preferred offtake partner; the offtake would cover 100% of proposed urea production capacity for a period of up to 15 years.

While the primary source of feedstock for the ammonia/urea facilities at start-up is natural gas from the South Erregulla field (undergoing field appraisal and further drilling throughout 2023), the project includes the integration of an on-site 10-megawatt (MW) electrolyser with the capacity to produce around 1,825 tonnes per annum of renewables-based hydrogen, or around two per cent of the total hydrogen feedstock for the plant.

The proponent has announced that the Project Haber industrial facilities would be located in proximity to its South Erregulla gas discoveries and aims to create a low-carbon integrated energy and industrial manufacturing centre, to be called the Mid West Low Carbon Manufacturing Precinct.

The electrolyser is planned to be powered from nearby wind and solar power or potentially by Strike Energy’s geothermal resources in the Perth Basin, should appraisal of its Mid West Geothermal Power Project prove successful.

The engineering design for the ammonia/urea facilities allow for higher consumption of green hydrogen feedstock. The project proponent indicates that, as the renewable-based hydrogen market matures, it intends to increase the consumption of hydrogen up to 100% of the ammonia feedstock over the project’s life.

The project proponent has entered into a separate Memorandum of Understanding with each of ATCO and Infinite Green Energy (IGE) for collaboration on Mid West infrastructure development planning and hydrogen offtake.

The project has been awarded Major Project Status by the Federal Government and Lead Agency Status by the Western Australian Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.

Strike Energy, in its 2023 Annual Report, updates on Project Haber:

“With the significant changes in the Western Australian domestic gas (and commensurate rise in gas price) and the lower capital pathway to higher and nearer returns that domestic gas sales offer as compared to Project Haber, Strike’s Board of Directors has determined to reprioritise Strike’s resources towards accelerating gas sales from its gas projects into the Western Australian domestic gas market. Strike will continue to progress environmental approvals and other long lead planning items for Project Haber, but all other activities will be deferred to the latter part of the decade.” (Page 29)

 

Updated: February 2024