ALLENTOWN, Pa. (November 30, 1993) -- Air Products Nederland B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., has been awarded a 15-year contract by Shell Nederland Raffinaderij B. V. to supply 1700 metric tons per day of oxygen to its Pernis Refinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands where it will be used to substantially reduce refinery emissions and improve product quality and yield. The oxygen will be supplied to the refinery via pipeline from a new air separation plant Air Products will build at its industrial gas complex in neighboring Rozenburg and involve a capital investment of over $100 million dollars. The facility is scheduled to come on stream in 1997. In addition to meeting Shell's requirements, Air Products' new industrial gas facility will be designed to produce oxygen and nitrogen to serve further market growth in the Rotterdam area.

The Shell agreement follows a long-term contract Air Products received earlier this year from another major oil company for the supply of hydrogen to its Rotterdam refinery. The two contracts combined will involve an Air Products investment of over $200 million. Shell will use the Air Products oxygen in three new gasifiers that will be built at the Pernis refinery. In these gasifiers, Shell will convert heavy residual and waste oils to a syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) from which hydrogen gas will be produced in a further separation and clean-up step. This hydrogen will be used in a new hydrocracker that also will be built at the Pernis refinery, enabling Shell to convert high sulfur crudes into fuels such as gasoline and diesel in an environmentally friendly manner, making the Shell refinery one of the most modern in Europe.

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