US-based KBR Deploys AI Platform at Nigerian Ammonia and Olefins Plants

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 10, US engineering and technology company KBR announced that it has deployed its AI-powered operations and engineering platform KBR INSITE at the ammonia and olefins process units of Nigeria's Indorama Corporation. The platform integrates physics-informed AI, plant historical and real-time operating data, and KBR's process engineering expertise to continuously monitor the operating status of equipment and production systems, identify process anomalies, analyze production bottlenecks, and provide explainable optimization recommendations.

KBR INSITE is designed for complex industrial production facilities with safety-critical requirements. It continuously analyzes unit operating parameters, identifies changes in equipment performance and potential anomalies, and supports root cause analysis of faults. The platform delivers analytical results and real-time decision support to on-site operations and engineering personnel, enabling them to evaluate different operating scenarios, identify energy consumption optimization opportunities, and adjust production operating parameters.

The deployment incorporates Orbital AI technology developed by UK-based Applied Computing. The two parties combined Orbital with KBR's process design, operations, and technical consulting expertise to create a plant-wide causal relationship model for ammonia production. Unlike models that only identify statistical patterns in historical data, the system learns process correlations and causal relationships across the entire plant, providing production personnel with analysis results grounded in engineering. KBR said this integrated approach can shorten the deployment cycle from contract signing and on-site data handover to the operational model going live.

In practical application, the technical lead at Indorama Fertilizers and Chemicals disclosed that the platform has been used for near-real-time analysis of key operating parameters at the ammonia and olefins units, identifying energy consumption optimization opportunities, production increase potential, and production constraints, as well as conducting systematic root cause analysis. The company said engineering personnel can review the technical logic behind the model's recommendations and use it for daily production decisions.

KBR is also expanding the platform's customer base. Egypt Basic Industries Corporation (EBIC) has signed a KBR INSITE deployment agreement and plans to have the platform operational by the end of 2026. The Nigeria deployment and the new Egypt agreement constitute two customer cases of KBR expanding industrial AI applications in fertilizer and chemical production.

In July 2026, KBR led a $20 million Series A investment in Applied Computing and participated in its industrial AI technology development. The two parties combine physical models, chemical engineering knowledge, time-series forecasting, and AI technologies to develop operational optimization solutions for refining, petrochemical, LNG, and other energy facilities.