U.S., Canadian Industrial Gases Project Activity Expected to Remain Strong in 2019

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The industrial gases sector has been a strong player in the U.S. and Canadian chemical industry for several years, and is expected to remain robust for the foreseeable future, according to Trey Hamblet, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Chemical Processing Industry.

Speaking at Industrial Info's January 23 Market Outlook event in Houston, Texas, Hamblet said industrial gases projects have sprung up to meet the needs of big petrochemical projects that are coming online. More than 50% of the project expenditures in the industrial gases sector represent grassroot activity, he said.

Industrial Info is tracking active U.S. and Canadian industrial gases projects with a combined value $2.8 billion, including nearly $700 million worth that are planned to start construction this year.

Click on the image at right to view a graph showing the top five states with industrial gases project kickoffs in 2019.

During its first-quarter earnings conference call on January 25, executives with Air Products (NYSE:APD) (Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania) outlined the company's planned project activity, which includes a new air separation unit (ASU) in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The unit, which was announced by Air Products in December, would produce liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon for local customers and distributors. The company said it plans for the facility to be on stream in early-to-mid 2020. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report. Air Products currently owns and operates more than 300 air separation plants across 40 countries.

In Geismar, Louisiana, Air Products is constructing a grassroot hydrogen steam methane reforming (SMR) plant, which will supply hydrogen, carbon monoxide and steam to Huntsman's Geismar operation, which produces maleic anhydride, methylene diphenyl isocyanate and other chemicals. The new hydrogen facility is expected to be commercially on stream in early 2020. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.

"We see significant growth opportunities for liquid hydrogen, and in terms of so-called gaseous hydrogen, there are projects being discussed in the United States, in the Gulf Coast and other areas that would require a significant amount of hydrogen for the production of chemicals, and we will obviously participate in that," Air Products Chief Executive Officer Seifi Ghasemi said during the company's earnings conference call with market analysts.

Other large industrial gases projects with planned construction starts in 2019 include:

• Praxair Incorporated's (Danbury, Connecticut) 170 million-standard-cubic-foot-per-day Hydrogen SMR plant at Phillips 66's (NYSE:PSX) (Houston, Texas) Sweeny, Texas, refinery; see project report
• The Linde Group's (NYSE:LIN) (Dublin, Ireland) 60 million-standard-cubic-foot-per-day hydrogen unit addition at Delaware City Refining Company LLC's refinery in Delaware; see project report
• Marathon Petroleum Corporation's (NYSE:MPC) (Findlay, Ohio) Dickenson, North Dakota, refinery hydrogen 2 addition; see project report

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.