Praxair Sets Middle East Gas Joint Venture

Industrial gases maker Praxair said on Monday it would expand its business in the Middle East by buying a 49% stake in the ROC Group's  businesses in three countries from the Al Khaled family of Kuwait.

Financial details of the transaction for the operations in Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Qatar were not released. The ROC Group's sales in those countries totaled about $80 million in 2009.

Praxair currently has only modest operations in the Middle East based out of offices in Abu Dhabi, and the new joint venture represents "a major move" to expand in the region, according to company spokesman Nigel Muir.

Praxair expects demand in the region to grow as Middle Eastern governments spend heavily on new infrastructure projects and to increase energy  production through technologies such as enhanced oil recovery, a process that uses gas to boost output from wells.

ROC Group currently operates in 12 countries in the Middle East, and the joint venture for the three countries will be based in Kuwait City.
Praxair would focus on developing the business in Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, but could expand the partnership with ROC to include other countries in the future.