Stories

In 2014, KBR was awarded a contract by Koch Nitrogen Company to provide engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) services for a new grassroots urea plant, part of a $1.3 billion expansion project at its Enid, Oklahoma facility.

In addition to the EPC work, KBR oversaw construction management services, site utilities and infrastructure to support the project.With all aspects of construction and commissioning near completion, the KBR team is proud of the seamless project execution working alongside Koch and of its many contributions which include successfully leading of a number of related projects such as the expansion of two existing ammonia units, the addition of a new urea unit, a loading and storage facility, a water treatment facility and power distribution centers to support the new construction.

The KBR-Koch project team worked seamlessly together to ensure a safe and inclusive work environment.While completing the work is important, the true achievement for the entire KBR-Koch project team was the safe and inclusive work environment on the project site which was a result of mutual trust between all companies, groups and craft workers at the facility. The project management strongly emphasized a positive culture which meant cooperation between construction crafts, the ability to identify and resolve issues as a team, delivering the schedule and cost targets, and ensuring everyone on the project team got home safely to their families every day. As each new employee joined the project, the overarching principles for the site were presented and were reinforced at every team meeting.

As a result, the project was able to maintain a high standard for safety and quality, enabling the project to meet impressive safety milestones such as working over two million manhours, or 255 days, without a recordable injury at the end of 2016 through mid-2017. Such achievements won the project well deserved recognition including KBR's 2016 Americas Presidents HSSE Excellence Award. KBR's site management team ensured high safety and quality standards were met at the Koch facility in Enid, OK.Visitors to the Enid jobsite consistently commented on the unique project culture that they experienced there.

Graham Hill, KBR's Executive Vice President, Global Business Development & Strategy recently visited Enid to discuss the project results with the KBR site management team. He was very impressed by what has been achieved, noting, The positive culture is a result of transparency and the team's joint focus on a common goal.

The project leadership team, which is made up of members from each participating company, worked together to determine key success factors for the project and saw it through to completion." KBR's Graham Hill (front center), recently met with site leaders at the Koch Nitrogen Company expansion project in Enid, OK where KBR successfully provided EPC services.

Jay McHenry, KBR's Senior Site Manager, pointed out that the site team's prime focus from the beginning was taking care of its team members. "We accomplished this project with great success by ensuring that we had adequate facilities and a safety culture that focused on the people's safety," McHenry said. "By ensuring a strong culture first, we were able to deliver on the construction and commissioning in a timely and budget conscious manner for our client," he continued.KBR has been involved in the licensing, design, engineering and/or construction of more than 230 ammonia plants worldwide and is proud to continue our long relationship with Koch Nitrogen Company,LLC through this project.

Upon completion of this project, KBR will have delivered Koch Nitrogen, and its customers, the benefits of KBR's EPC delivery and its Fertilizer Technology expertise."