US engineering and construction company Fluor has won a contract from Sasol Group Technology, a division of Sasol South Africa, to build an additional oxygen train at Secunda in South Africa. The Train 17 project at Sasol’s synfuels operations will be the world’s largest air separation unit. Fluor will provide engineering, procurement and construction services for the outside battery limits facilities, including the integration of Train 17’s product streams with other live operations. These include high-pressure oxygen, high-pressure and low-pressure nitrogen as well as dry air. The scope also includes the supply of electricity with associated infrastructure and utilities upgrades to the air separation unit.

“We are leveraging our extensive knowledge of the Secunda facility and our innovative global procurement and design approaches to develop a capital-efficient solution for our client,” stated Al Collins, president of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business in Europe, Africa and Middle East. Alejandro Escalona, general manager of Fluor South Africa, said its integrated solutions approach means both the project and Sasol would benefit from a predictable schedule, cost certainty, reduced risk, single-point accountability, process optimization, improved interfaces and reduced cost for the owner.

This latest award continues the long-running relationship between the two firms that started in the early 1960s when Fluor won its first project for Sasol in Sasolburg. The value of the Train 17 contract was not disclosed.