Air Products Brings Hydrogen Production Facility On-Stream to Supply ExxonMobil's Joliet, Illinois Refinery


LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (October 19, 2006) - Air Products (NYSE:APD), the leading global hydrogen supplier, announced today that its hydrogen production facility at ExxonMobil Oil Corporation's Joliet Refinery in Illinois is on-stream. The Air Products facility, located adjacent to the refinery, is an integrated steam methane reformer and recovery system processing refinery off-gas. It supplies 18 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of hydrogen, as well as steam for the refinery.

This project is the fifth North American hydrogen facility brought on-stream in the past year by Air Products and the third in the U.S., including others at Baytown, Texas and Convent, Louisiana. Air Products also placed on-stream the largest outsourced hydrogen production facilities in Canada near Edmonton, Alberta and in Sarnia, Ontario. Additionally, in 2006, Air Products will bring on-stream another U.S. facility in Port Arthur, Texas. In 2006 Air Products will have increased hydrogen production capacity by over 450 MMSCFD. The company also announced earlier this year plans for a second Edmonton, Alberta facility to come on-stream in 2008 and produce 105 MMSCFD as the first merchant plant in Canada to provide a sale of hydrogen for use in the upgrading of Canadian oil sands.

"We are pleased to begin working with ExxonMobil at Joliet, and to have successfully brought on-stream another hydrogen production facility in 2006. Providing refiners with hydrogen is one of our key growth businesses. Our ability to work with refiners and meet their high reliability needs is one of Air Products' strengths, and has led to long-term customer relationships," said Jeff Byrne, Air Products' vice president and general manager, Refining and Process Industries. The Joliet supply arrangement is one of over 30 that the company has undertaken with worldwide refiners in the past 15 years.

The Joliet hydrogen facility is the 26th to be built under the global alliance between Air Products and Technip. This alliance continues to provide the worldwide refining industry with competitive technology, plus world-class safety with "over the fence" hydrogen supply. Technip provides the design and construction for hydrogen generation units while Air Products provides the gas separation technology. Air Products, through its extensive operating network, and Technip, from its large reference base, also bring effective operational and engineering knowledge to "design-in" high reliability and efficiency. The plants are operated and maintained by Air Products under long-term agreements with customers.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in technology, energy, healthcare and industrial markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of products, services and solutions, providing atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials and chemical intermediates. Founded in 1940, Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the environment and is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indices. The company has annual revenues of $8.1 billion, operations in over 30 countries, and over 20,000 employees around the globe. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com

About Technip

With a workforce of about 21,000 people, Technip ranks among the top five corporations in the field of oil, gas and petrochemical engineering, construction and services. Headquartered in Paris, the Group is listed in New York and Paris. The Group's main operations and engineering centers and business units are located in France, Italy, Germany, the UK, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, the USA, Brazil, Abu-Dhabi, China, India, Malaysia and Australia. In support of its activities, the Group manufactures flexible pipes and umbilicals, and builds offshore platforms in its manufacturing plants and fabrication yards in France, Brazil, the UK, the USA, Finland and Angola, and has a fleet of specialized vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction. Technip is the leading supplier of hydrogen production facilities with more than 200 references worldwide. More information can be found at technip.com

Media Inquiries:

(Air Products)

Art George,

Tel: (610) 481-1340,

E-mail: georgeaf@airproducts.com

(Technip)

Laurence Bricq,

Tel: +33 (0) 1 47 78 26 37,

Fax: +33 (0) 1 47 78 24 33,

E-mail: lbricq@technip.com

Investor Inquiries:

(Air Products)

Ken Walck,

Tel: (610) 481-8315,

E-mail: walckkm@airproducts.com

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