Air Products and Chemicals Plans New Hydrogen Plant in Louisiana

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Air Products and Chemicals Incorporated (NYSE: APD) (Allentown, Pennsylvania) is planning an estimated $100 million hydrogen plant in Westlake, Louisiana. The plant will be located next to ConocoPhillips', the fifth largest global refiner in the world, 250,000 barrel-per-day petroleum refinery in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The new plant will produce 100 million standard cubic feet of hydrogen per day to support the neighboring refinery's demands.

The plant will consist of a natural, gas-based hydrogen steam methane reformer and will be connected to the existing Air Products hydrogen pipeline system, which originates in the Houston Ship Channel. The new hydrogen plant will assist the refinery in producing cleaner transportation fuels from heavier sour crude feedstocks. CITGO Petroleum Corporation (Tulsa, Oklahoma) will also take advantage of this new hydrogen complex, as they have signed an agreement with Air Products to receive hydrogen supplies from the new plant.

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Technip-Coflexip (NYSE: TKP) (San Dimas, California) will provide technology and perform engineering services for the project under an alliance with Air Products for all new hydrogen plants worldwide through 2011. The Westlake hydrogen plant is scheduled to begin construction during the third quarter of 2003 and will be the nineteenth plant to be built through the Air Products and Technip-Coflexip group alliance. The plant is expected to go online during the middle of 2004.

Air Products and Chemicals, Incorporated is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania and is the largest supplier of electronic materials, hydrogen, helium and select performance chemicals.