Air Liquide Boosts North American Capabilities

Air Liquide has signed a long-term agreement to supply oxygen and nitrogen to Gulf Coast Growth Ventures’ (GCGV) proposed ethane cracker near Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. The gases group will invest nearly $140 million to build a new air separation unit in Bay City, Texas.

French  industrial gases giant Air Liquide has signed a long-term agreement to supply oxygen and nitrogen to Gulf Coast Growth Ventures’ (GCGV) proposed ethane cracker near Corpus Christi, Texas, USA. GCGV is a 50:50 joint venture between ExxonMobil and Sabic.

To support the additional volumes required, Air Liquide will invest nearly $140 million to build a new air separation unit in Bay City, Texas, along with associated infrastructure. The gases group will also add nearly eight miles of pipeline to connect GCGV to its Gulf Coast Pipeline System, a move Air Liquide said will strengthen its capabilities throughout the US Gulf Coast as well as its position in the growing industrial basin of Corpus Christi.

The air separation facility will supply 2,000 t/d of oxygen and 900 t/d of nitrogen to GCGV’s 1.8 million t/y ethane cracker. In June, the two partners gave the final nod to proceed with the complex, which will also include two PE plants and a monoethylene glycol plant. Construction is expected to start in this year’s third quarter, with the complex scheduled to go on stream by 2022.

Air Liquide added that the new gases plant will also enable it to retire older, less efficient assets, enhancing the company’s competitiveness over the long-term and reducing the carbon intensity of its operations.

Contracts with Shell in Canada renewed

In separate news, Air Liquide has renewed contracts for the supply of oxygen, nitrogen, steam and electricity to Shell Chemicals at its Scotford facility near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada.

As a consequence, Air Liquide will invest in its Scotford site to enhance operational efficiency and to enable future growth in the area, a move it said aligns with the group’s strategy to develop in key industrial basins and create efficiencies.