| Facility to Supply Premcor Oil Refinery
LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa. (June 26, 2001) — Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) has completed construction and start up of its 100 million standard-cubic-feet-per-day (scfd) hydrogen plant in Port Arthur, Tex. and is supplying hydrogen, steam, and power to The Premcor Refining Group, Inc.'s adjacent 250,000 barrel per day oil refinery.
The majority of the hydrogen produced by the Air Products facility, commissioned at the end of 2000, is supplied to Premcor under a long-term supply agreement, and the balance is distributed through the Air Products hydrogen pipeline system. The Air Products hydrogen pipeline system supplies over 40 customers and extends from the Houston Ship Channel to the Texas/Louisiana border.
"Port Arthur is one of 15 supply arrangements the company has undertaken for refiners worldwide within the past five years," said Scott A. Sherman, Air Products' vice president and general manager, Chemical and Process Industries. "We have continuously demonstrated our ability to create value for our customers and our shareholders through very high reliability hydrogen supply. We are extremely pleased to have Port Arthur onstream and supplying Premcor. Air Products' values our long term relationships with our customers, and we are excited that Premcor is now an important part of our system."
Premcor's Port Arthur, Tex. refinery recently completed a new heavy oil upgrade project which consists of an 80,000 barrel per day coker unit, a 35,000 barrel per day hydrocracker and a 417 long tons per day sulfur complex that allows the refinery to process heavy sour crude oil up to 80% of its capacity.
"We are pleased that this final phase of construction is now complete, said William C.Rusnack, Chief Executive Officer and President of Premcor. "This project start-up is a major milestone in our company's history and will benefit both Premcor and the Port Arthur community for years to come."
The new Port Arthur facility is the 15th project Air Products and Technip (formerly KTI) have executed together under a worldwide cooperative agreement. Technip provides design and engineering for hydrogen plants. Air Products provides pressure swing adsorption cleanup systems, and then constructs, owns, operates, and maintains the facilities under long-term supply agreements.
"The Air Products and Technip combination has consistently demonstrated its ability to provide an economical and highly reliable supply of hydrogen to a broad spectrum of customers. The 15 projects we have completed together have provided a great deal of experience to our partnership, experience that we have been able to provide to our customers," said Sherman.
In total, Air Products operates over 60 hydrogen and carbon monoxide facilities around the world, with global hydrogen and carbon monoxide production capacity of over 1.3 billion scfd.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (www.airproducts.com) is the world's only combined gases and chemicals company. Founded more than 60 years ago and headquartered in eastern Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, the company has annual revenues of $5.5 billion and operations in 30 countries. Air Products is a market leader in the global electronics and chemical processing industries, and a longstanding innovator in basic manufacturing sectors, including steel, metal, glass and food processing. The company distinguishes itself through its 17,500 employees around the world, who build lasting relationships with their customers and communities based on understanding, integrity and passion. |
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