AIR LIQUIDE BUILDS IN RUSSIA
2009.07
Air Liquide (www.airliquide.com) will build and operate a new air separation unit (ASU) with a production capacity of 40 tonnes per day (tpd) of gaseous oxygen 900 km east of Moscow, in the Special Economic Zone “Alabuga,” in the Republic of Tatarstan. When commissioned in the first half of 2011, the ASU will supply Preiss-Daimler-Tatneft’s fiberglass production unit by pipeline and will also supply around 200 tpd of LOX and LIN to customers in the region by other means. Air Liquide is investing around EUR 35 million in this project. Guy Salzgeber, Vice President European Industrial Business and member of the Group’s Executive Committee, declared: “The Russian market presents an attractive growth potential and Air Liquide intends to continue its development in this country.”
IACX ENERGY SELLS HELIUM
2009.07
Dallas-based midstream natural gas company, IACX Energy (www.iacx.com), has begun operations and sales on what is believed to be the world’s smallest, mobile, economically viable helium purification plant for natural gas applications. The plant is located near the community of Otis, Kansas, and it is being operated in unison with three IACX nitrogen rejection units (3 MMcf/d of total inlet capacity). Presently, the plant is polishing approximately 15 to 30 million standard cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of helium, which is then compressed to 2,800 psi and stored in high-pressure tube trailers for transport. Helium is sold on fixed, “take-or-pay” contracts. Much of the natural gas produced in this part of Kansas is associated with higher-thanaverage percentages of helium (1.5–2.0 percent) which is sourced from deep, basement rock. As these and other helium-laden natural gas reserves continue their inevitable decline, large-scale facilities have become underutilized and increasingly inefficient. Increasingly, more volumes of natural gas with higher-than-average levels of other inert gases, such as nitrogen and CO2, are becoming stranded or otherwise non-producible due to tightened sales line specifications. IACX CEO, Scott Sears, said, “This Otis project represents a re-emergence of recently shut-in gas volumes due to its nitrogen and helium content. Typically, where there’s helium in natural gas, the levels of associated nitrogen are also higher, reducing the overall Btu value of the gas and making it hard to sell into conventional sales lines. The Otis project is in its infancy and IACX’s nimble assets allow for the staging of a project’s growth by adding processing capacity only when it is needed. At Otis, we started with one nitrogen unit, and now we have three, plus the helium plant. It’s best to grow a project on cash flow rather than on rosy expectations, and we fully expect to outgrow all of these plants soon. Our intent is to start small, though not to stay small.” He also noted, “In these days of depressed natural gas prices, added helium sales can really help a project’s economics, even with smaller volumes.” IACX has other operating applications in Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and other locations in Kansas.
LINCOLN ELECTRIC OPENS FACILITY IN CHENNAI
2009.07
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (www.lincolnelectric.com) recently dedicated a 100,000- square-foot welding consumables facility in Chennai, India, which will serve the growing market in that country and markets throughout the Asia Pacific region. Speaking at the dedication ceremonies in Chennai, John M. Stropki, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The new Chennai plant represents an important investment for Lincoln in the expanding market for welding products in India. Our plant will serve the growing demand from industry and large infrastructure projects that are fueling India’s economic growth.” The Lincoln Chennai plant will manufacture solid welding wire used for a variety of welding applications in industry segments such as heavy equipment, metal buildings, pipeline and pipe mills, and power generation, which includes the fabrication of wind towers. The new campus consists of offices for the Company’s new Indian Headquarters, training and welding demonstration facilities, and manufacturing space.
LINDE TO SUPPLY CITGO
2009.07
Linde (www.linde.com) has executed a new long-term contract with PdV Midwest Refining LLC to supply hydrogen to the Company’s CITGO oil refinery in Lemont, IL. Linde Process Plants will engineer, build, and install the new plant to produce the hydrogen that is used in the production of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel. Site construction has begun for the 45 million standard cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) hydrogen plant, which is expected to begin operating in 2010. Linde has been providing hydrogen to CITGO for clean fuels production at the Lemont site from a 15 MMcf/d plant that began operating in 2003. In addition to hydrogen, Linde supplies the refinery with other industrial gases such as nitrogen and oxygen.
MESSER INVESTS IN SPAIN
2009.07
Messer (www.messergroup.com) put a production plant into operation in El Morell (Tarragona, Spain) and has invested EUR 42 million in its Spanish subsidiary’s new plant. The new ASU, one of the largest in Spain, is connected to its own 90-kilometer long pipeline network that supplies the leading chemical and petrochemical companies at the Tarragona industrial complex. The plant has a daily production capacity of 550 tonnes of oxygen, 900 tonnes of nitrogen and 26 tonnes of argon. In addition to the pipeline, Messer also liquefies oxygen and nitrogen and supplies these to customers by tanker. Messer Ibérica operates a gas cylinder filling plant in Vilaseca, the only one in Spain that uses 300-bar technology. In a few months, another filling plant is due to go into operation in the province of Alicante. Messer is also supplying gases for a project in Barcelona that is digging a 4.8 km-long tunnel for the Spanish AVE high-speed train that will link the Catalonian capital to the French border. Oxygen, acetylene, and the inert welding gas Ferromix are being used in this project, which is expected to take two years to complete.
MESSER BUILDS MORE IN GERMANY
2009.07
In May, Messer laid the foundation stone for the production unit on the site of Salzgitter Flachstahl, a company owned by Salzgitter AG. Messer (www.messergroup.com) is investing around EUR 50 million for the construction of its second major production plant for industrial gases in Germany. (For news of the other new Messer plant under construction in Siegen, Germany, see Cryo- Gas International, Projects in the News, June 2009, pp. 5-6.) The ASU will feed up to 28,000 standard cubic meters of gaseous oxygen per hour into the distribution network of Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH. Through a pipeline from Salzgitter to Peine, Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH is establishing a joint supply with Peiner Träger GmbH, also owned by Salzgitter AG. Messer may optionally deliver up to 40,000 standard cubic meters of gaseous nitrogen per hour to the Company and will produce LOX, LIN, and LAR for the local market.
MTG’S FIFTH HELIUM TRANSFIL
2009.07
Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc. (MTG) (www.mathesontri-gas.com) plans to build a new helium transfill facility in Waverly, NE, at an existing facility owned and operated by its Linweld subsidiary. This will be MTG’s fifth helium transfill in the US and TNSC’s fifteenth worldwide. The Waverly facility, expected to be fully operational by December 2009, will be capable of filling high-pressure cylinders, tube trailers, and liquid helium dewars for delivery to end-user customers and distributors located throughout Linweld’s market area, which includes Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Greg Vasek, President/COO of Linweld stated, “The transfill investment will give Linweld/MTG a competitive advantage in our markets, strengthening our helium supply position and providing our customers with additional assurance on their supply.” According to John Bigham, Director Product Management and Global Logistics, Matheson Tri-Gas Global Helium, “Matheson Tri-Gas’ investment in the Waverly transfill is consistent with our strategy to upgrade our helium supply capability within the Matheson Tri-Gas US footprint. Further investments of this kind, both in the US and in overseas markets, are likely in the coming years.”