Kirkland & Ellis, with its expanding construction practice in Saudi Arabia, is facilitating a $4 billion cross-border deal for the development of an ammonia plant in Louisiana.
The deal is being led by Riyadh construction partners James Clark and Ahmed Alrikhaimi.
Clark launched the firm’s construction practice in Riyadh in October 2023, after relocating from Abu Dhabi. Alrikhaimi joined him a year later, relocating as a partner from the firm’s Houston office to Riyadh.
The duo are advising CF Industries, the world’s largest producer of ammonia, together with joint venture partners JERA, Japan’s largest energy company, and Mitsui, a Tokyo-headquartered global investment company, on the engineering, procurement and module fabrication contract awarded to Technip Energies for the development of a low-carbon ammonia plant.
Technip Energies will work with Topsoe, to which the joint venture awarded the process licence for their low-carbon SynCOR ammonia technology.
The joint venture will construct the world’s largest low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana, with an estimated cost of approximately $4 billion.
Construction of the plant is expected to begin in 2026, with low-carbon ammonia production expected in 2029.
Upon formation, CF Industries will hold 40% ownership, JERA 35% ownership, and Mitsui 25% ownership in the joint venture. The facility will be funded by each partner according to their ownership percentage.
CF Industries will also build and operate scalable infrastructure at the site to supply the ammonia production facility with services, including product storage and loading. CF Industries will invest approximately $550 million for these facilities and receive ongoing services revenue from the joint venture ammonia production facility.
The Kirkland team advising on the joint venture included corporate partners Cyril Jones, Jacob Volz, Chad Smith, Patrick Corrigan, and Shawn Beloin, alongside tax partners Mark Dundon and Mike Masri, technology and IP partner Amy Barber, and real estate partner John Caruso.
