BOC Approves Plans for a Grassroot Hydrogen Plant in Midwest

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). The BOC Group Incorporated (Murray Hill, New Jersey), a subsidiary of The BOC Group PLC, United Kingdom (LSE: UK:BOC) is planning to move forward with the construction of a grassroot 50 million scfd (standard cubic feet per day) Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) hydrogen plant in Oregon (Toledo), Ohio (Plant 1063566; PEC 10003172). This new plant will provide hydrogen to two neighboring petroleum refineries, Sunoco Incorporated and BP, under long-term supply agreements.

Industrialinfo.com has been tracking plans by both Sunoco and BP since 2001 (PEC 10002476 & 10002631, respectively) for construction of new hydrogen capacity at their refinery sites as part of the ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD) program. Several industrial gases companies have been vying for this business for years, and BOC successfully signed agreements to provide hydrogen to both plant sites.

Both refiners need this new hydrogen capacity by late 2005 to integrate into their ULSD programs. Construction will move forward on a fast track with civil construction starting this summer and commercial operation planned for the third quarter of 2005.

Hydrogen has enjoyed a healthy demand for the last several years, as refiners implemented major technology changes to meet gasoline standards and future diesel fuel standards will continue to provide strength for this industry segment. Although, much of the hydrogen produced comes from outside the refinery fence by third party providers, such as BOC, refiners also represent a large portion of the hydrogen produced in the United States.