LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa.,
June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Air
Products (NYSE: APD), the leader in providing liquefied natural gas
(LNG) technology and equipment to the world, today announced it has
been selected to supply its proprietary cryogenic coil wound LNG
heat exchanger for the world's first Floating LNG (FLNG) facility
to be located in the Browse Basin off the northwest coast of
Western Australia. In May,
Shell announced it had made its final investment decision to move
forward with the Prelude FLNG project. Air Products had been
carrying out engineering in support of the front-end engineering
design effort for the Prelude FLNG Project by a Technip and Samsung
Heavy Industries (SHI) consortium.
Shell will locate its floating LNG facility approximately 125
miles offshore. It will be the largest floating offshore
facility in the world at 533 yards long. The establishment of FLNG
plants has the potential to place gas liquefaction facilities
directly over offshore gas fields, thereby precluding the need for
long distance pipelines and extensive onshore infrastructure.
This innovative alternative to traditional onshore LNG plants
provides a commercially attractive and environmentally sensitive
approach for monetizing offshore gas fields.
"This is a new market segment for LNG for all of us and required
some innovation, which is an Air Products' strength. There is
a lot of interest in monetizing the stranded natural gas fields
located offshore around the globe. In fact, we've been
studying floating LNG plant design extensively for over 10 years.
We have completed empirical studies on our heat exchanger
equipment in sea motion induced test rigs in order to position
ourselves for what could be a major trend for this industry," said
Jim Solomon, director – LNG at Air
Products. Solomon added that as a result of its development
efforts, Air Products has made design changes to its proprietary
LNG heat exchanger to operate safely, effectively and efficiently
in a floating environment.
Air Products is under contract on the FLNG project with Technip,
which is designing and constructing the FLNG facility in a
consortium with SHI. "Technip believes that the selection of the
industry's most capable suppliers is one of the keys to the success
of Prelude FLNG, the world's first facility of this kind," said
Joel Leroux, Technip-Samsung
Consortium project director.
A majority of the total worldwide LNG is produced with Air
Products' technology. Air Products has designed, manufactured and
exported over 90 coil wound heat exchangers for LNG projects in 15
countries from its Wilkes-Barre,
Pa., United States facility
over the last four decades. In support of the LNG industry,
Air Products provides process technology and key equipment for the
heart of the natural gas liquefaction process, and also nitrogen
plants for the base-load LNG facility, as well as process
technology and equipment for small and mid-sized LNG plants,
floating LNG plants and LNG peak shavers. Upstream, Air Products
provides both nitrogen and natural gas dehydration membrane systems
for offshore platforms. Downstream, Air Products provides dry inert
gas generators for LNG carriers, shipboard membrane nitrogen
systems, and land-based membrane and cryogenic nitrogen systems for
LNG import terminals.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE:APD) serves customers in industrial, energy,
technology and healthcare markets worldwide with a unique portfolio
of atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, performance
materials, and equipment and services. Founded in 1940,
Air Products has built leading positions in key growth markets
such as semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, home healthcare
services, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and
adhesives. The company is recognized for its innovative
culture, operational excellence and commitment to safety and the
environment. In fiscal 2010, Air Products had revenues of
$9 billion, operations in over 40
countries, and 18,300 employees around the globe. For more
information, visit www.airproducts.com.
About Technip
Technip is a world leader in project management, engineering and
construction for the energy industry.
From the deepest Subsea oil & gas developments to the
largest and most complex Offshore and Onshore infrastructures, our
23,000 people are constantly offering the best solutions and most
innovative technologies to meet the world's energy challenges.
Present in 48 countries, Technip has state-of-the-art industrial
assets on all continents and operates a fleet of specialized
vessels for pipeline installation and subsea construction.
The Technip share is listed on Euronext Paris exchange and over
the counter (OTC) in the USA.
For more information, visit: www.technip.com.
***NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements
within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are
based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of
the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual
performance and financial results may differ materially from
projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking
statements because of many factors not anticipated by management,
including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its
fiscal year ended September 30,
2009.
SOURCE Air Products