Air Products to Build New Hydrogen Production Facility Linked to Pipeline Network to Supply Marathon's Garyville, La. Refinery Expansion
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., April 2: Air Products (NYSE:APD), the leading global hydrogen provider, today announced it will add new capacity to its Louisiana pipeline system by building a new hydrogen production facility in Garyville, La. The facility will supply the Garyville refinery operations of Marathon Petroleum Company LLC, a subsidiary of Marathon Oil Corporation (NYSE:MRO), and other customers located on its extensive Louisiana Hydrogen Pipeline Network. The 120 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) plant is projected to be on-stream in late 2009, in conjunction with Marathon's major refinery expansion project.
"We are very pleased to be expanding our relationship with Marathon. This new facility will supply Marathon with both hydrogen and steam for its refinery operations. Hydrogen supply is critical to Marathon's expansion project. Having our high-reliability steam methane reformer (SMR) on their site adds reliability by connecting to the largest hydrogen pipeline network in Louisiana," said Tom Wendahl, Air Products' Louisiana business manager.
Air Products had been supplying hydrogen via pipeline to Marathon's Garyville refinery since 1993. Marathon's hydrogen demand increased with its recent announcement of a plant expansion project that will expand the crude oil refining capacity of the Garyville refinery from 245,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 425,000 bpd.
"Air Products is committed to growing our hydrogen business to meet the increasing demand of our customers. This new facility is the second large SMR added to our Louisiana network since late 2005. We strive to provide the lowest cost and highest reliable supply to our customers as they expand their facilities here in Louisiana," said Jeff Byrne, vice president and general manager for Tonnage Gases.
The Garyville hydrogen facility is the 29th to be built through the global alliance between Air Products and Technip. This alliance continues to provide the worldwide refining industry with competitive technology plus world-class safety. Technip provides the design and construction expertise for steam reformers 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.
This 2007 project announcement comes on the heels of a very busy 2006 for Air Products' hydrogen production operations. In all, Air Products brought on-stream six new North American plants located in Convent, La.; Baytown and Port Arthur, Tx.; Joliet, Ill.; and in Canada near Edmonton, Alberta and Sarnia, Ontario. In 2006 Air Products increased hydrogen production capacity by over 450 MMSCFD. The company also announced plans for a second Edmonton, Alberta area facility to be on-stream in 2008. It is to be the first commercial plant in Canada to provide the sale of hydrogen for use in the upgrading of Canadian oil sands.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in industrial, energy, technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance materials, and equipment and services. 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 $9 billion, operations in over 40 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/ .
Source: Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
CONTACT: Art George, +1-610-481-1340, georgeaf@airproducts.com, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.; Laurence Bricq, +33-01-4778-2637, Fax +33-01-4778-2433, lbricq@technip.com, Technip; Nelson Squires,
+1-610-481-7461, squirenj@airproducts.com
Web site: www.airproducts.com/
