Air Products Inks Long-Term Hydrogen and Nitrogen Supply Deal with Indian Oil

Industrial gases major Air Products has signed long-term hydrogen and nitrogen supply agreement with energy giant Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL).

Once completed, the Barauni project will be the Pennsylvania-headquartered company’s second BOO project in India, after the Kochi Industrial Gas complex at BPCL’s Kochi Refinery.
 
Under the signed agreement, the American firm will build, own and operate (BOO) a new industrial gases complex supplying hydrogen, nitrogen and steam to the national oil company’s Barauni Refinery in Bihar, India.
 
The move will further aid IOCL’s capacity expansion from 6 to 9 million tonnes per annum producing Euro-VI or BS-VI compliant gasoline and diesel at its Barauni complex.

Moreover, the industrial gas complex will include the latest generation multi-feed hydrogen production facility supplying 70,000 normal cubic meters per hour (Nm3/hr) of hydrogen as well as steam, and a high-efficiency air separation unit producing 4,000 Nm3/hr of nitrogen.
 
Commenting on the deal, Dr. Samir J. Serhan, chief operating officer of Air Products, said, “We are honored to work with IOCL, the largest petroleum refining company and largest Public Sector Undertaking in India. As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, our latest strategic investment in India will provide an efficient combination of industrial gas production technologies, enabling IOCL to meet ever-increasing transportation fuel demand. We look forward to reliably supplying IOCL’s industrial gas needs for decades to come.”

The company is expected a new industrial gas complex for IOCL to come on stream in 2024.
 
“We are proud to work with IOCL as they look to significantly expand their operations at Barauni. We look forward to bringing our global expertise, experience and world-class engineering capabilities to this project,” said Juan Gonzalez, Vice President, Large Project Business Development, Air Products Middle East, Egypt, Turkey and India.