Air Liquide is Evaluating the West Coast Region to Construct New Hydrogen Capacity

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas). Air Liquide America Corporation (Houston, Texas), a subsidiary of Air Liquide S A (Paris, France), is evaluating options for two major project investments that would include the construction of two new hydrogen plants to be located in the West Coast Region of the United States.

Air Liquide’s first planned investment is to construct a 120 million standard cubic feet per day steam methane reforming hydrogen plant in Rodeo, California to be located on the site of ConocoPhillips’ petroleum refinery. This new plant will cost an estimated $80 million to construct. Fluor Corporation (Aliso Viejo, California) has been selected to provide engineering and Air Liquide is expected to make a selection for the detailed engineering and construction during the third quarter of this year. Construction of this project is expected to begin in March 2007 and should be online and operating in mid-2008.

Air Liquide is currently in the early phases of evaluating plans for yet another West Coast hydrogen plant, although a firm site has not been chosen. Ferndale, Washington appears to be among the sites being considered that will provide hydrogen to the merchant market and potentially a dedicated refinery client. The new plant will produce an estimated 60-80 million standard cubic feet per day and cost at least $50 million to construct. Studies will continue through 2007 and anticipate construction commencing in 2008.

These two investments will add to the recent new plant start-ups that Air Liquide has completed in the last two years within the region. These new plant locations include a 100 million standard cubic feet per day hydrogen plant in El Segundo, California in 2005, and a 7 million standard cubic feet per day hydrogen plant in Anacortes, Washington during 2004. The placement of these hydrogen plants has been strategically placed to provide hydrogen to neighboring refineries in the continued and future efforts to produce low sulfur fuels.

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