ROTTERDAM, Netherlands,
Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
Today, Air Products and ExxonMobil celebrated the start-up of a
new world-scale hydrogen production plant in Rotterdam. Joop
Atsma, State Secretary for Infrastructure and the
Environment, Mayor Aboutaleb of Rotterdam and Hans
Smits, CEO Port of Rotterdam, participated in the official
ceremony. Integrating ExxonMobil's refinery with Air Products new
hydrogen plant will lead to a 15% improvement in energy efficiency
and reduce related CO2 emissions by 200,000 tons per year.
"Key to achieving the delivery of a world-class plant of this
size and scope within such an aggressive timetable was the
expertise and close collaboration of all those involved in the
project. The Dutch government and local authorities also played an
important role in helping us to deliver a plant that, by design,
minimizes the loss of heat to the environment and reduces the
natural gas requirement," said Jeff
Byrne, Air Products' global vice president and general
manager - Tonnage Gases. "As a location, the ExxonMobil Botlek site
offers significant synergy in terms of our products and feedstock
flow. It also allows us to connect the new plant into our extensive
Rotterdam hydrogen pipeline
network, which supplies hydrogen to several other customers in the
region."
State Secretary Atsma said in his speech that the importance of
the new plant should not be underestimated. "We need plants like
this one nationally as well as internationally to achieve our
European mid-term and long term environmental ambitions. Today, Air
Products and ExxonMobil show that by a targeted investment and
integration of industrial processes, a substantial energy saving
and CO2 reduction are being achieved.''
The Air Products plant uses ExxonMobil refinery's excess gas to
produce hydrogen. The refinery uses hydrogen for the
desulphurization of oil products and in the manufacture of
petrochemicals. The new plant uses the most advanced processes and
technologies which makes the hydrogen production considerably more
efficient than the previous hydrogen supply to the refinery. The
hydrogen plant also delivers steam to the refinery. The synergy in
the production processes of the two plants will improve overall
energy efficiency by more than 15%.
"Improving energy efficiency is the best way to reduce energy
consumption and related CO2 emissions," says Andrew Madden, ExxonMobil Refinery Manager.
"Through projects such as this one refineries can continue to
provide oil products economically while continuing to reduce their
environmental footprint. The Rotterdam refinery and petrochemical complex
play an important role in our global company and the integration
with the hydrogen plant demonstrates ExxonMobil's commitment to
disciplined investments in this region."
Air Products, in conjunction with Technip - its main
contractor on the project - began construction of the new
hydrogen plant in June 2010.
Maria van der Hoeven, Minister of
Economic Affairs at that time, officially started the ground
breaking. The start-up of the new hydrogen plant took place in
December 2011. It took approximately
one million man-hours to build the plant. The construction was
completed with more than 450 people working at the site at one
time, with eight different languages spoken. Although there were
challenging circumstances, the worker's safety was managed
proactively and successfully.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE: APD) provides atmospheric, process and
specialty gases; performance materials; equipment; and technology.
For over 70 years, the company has enabled customers to become more
productive, energy efficient and sustainable. More than 18,000
employees in over 40 countries supply innovative solutions to the
energy, environment and emerging markets. These include
semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, coal gasification,
natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. In
fiscal 2011, Air Products had sales of $10.1
billion. For more information, visit
www.airproducts.com.
In the Netherlands, Air
Products has been active in Rotterdam since 1970 with production
facilities in Botlek, Pernis and Europoort. The company also has
offices in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Nijmegen and Terneuzen.
About ExxonMobil
ExxonMobil is the world's largest publicly traded international
oil and gas company and a global leader in the petrochemical
industry, with activities in almost every country. In the Netherlands, ExxonMobil has a refinery,
several chemical plants, a lube oil blending plant and a network of
service stations. Also, ExxonMobil is co-owner of the
Rotterdam-Antwerp Pipeline, TEAM Terminal and MOT. ExxonMobil has a
significant interest in the Dutch gas business through its
participation in NAM and GasTerra. For more information, visit
www.exxonmobil.com.
SOURCE Air Products