Recent Engineering Contract for Texas Unit Spotlights Worldwide Hydrogen Growth Trend

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Praxair Incorporated (NYSE: PX) (Danbury, Connecticut) has hired Linde Process Plants Incorporated (Tulsa, Oklahoma) to complete engineering and manage construction for an estimated $50 million hydrogen unit to be located in Texas. This new unit is expected to produce approximately 100 million standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen and will be located at a petroleum refinery site owned by BP (NYSE: BP) in Texas City, Texas.

Industrialinfo.com first began tracking this project as part of its North American Projects Database in December of last year. The site selection was made earlier this year and there are currently plans to build another unit of similar size on the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast beginning next year. Construction for the Texas City unit is planned to begin early next year with a startup or online date in 2004. The hydrogen produced in this new unit is primarily dedicated to BP for use in its Texas City refining operations.

In August of this year, Industrialinfo.com reported tracking over 120 capital projects globally that will increase hydrogen production capacity through either grassroot construction, debottlenecks, expansions, or unit additions with at least 70 of those projects still pending approvals totaling near $2 billion in spending. "The U.S. and Canada lead in this investment trend as North American refiners strive to comply with strict environmental mandates that are requiring drastic reductions is vehicle emissions," commented Trey Hamblet, Chemical Group Manager with Industrialinfo.com.