Air Liquide closes deal to buy Oxea Oberhausen syngas plant

06 August 2010 08:37  [Source: ICIS news]

LONDON (ICIS)--Air Liquide has signed an agreement with German Oxea for the acquisition of its syngas plant at Oberhausen in the Rhine-Ruhr area after obtaining approval from anti-trust authorities, the French industrial gases firm said on Friday.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

Oxea, the German supplier of oxo-intermediates and derivatives, said in May it was planning to sell the plant to the French producer.

The plant has a production capacity of approximately 83,000 Nm³ per hour of syngas - a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide - used in the production of oxo-intermediates and oxo-derivatives, which are used in high-quality coatings, lubricants and cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, said Air Liquide.

Air Liquide added that it already operated three air separation units in close proximity to this syngas facility, which have delivered oxygen to Oxea for several years.

Air Liquide is currently building a fourth air separation unit at Oberhausen, with a production capacity of 2,400 tonnes of oxygen per day.

“This takeover offers a good illustration of our growth strategy in existing large marketplaces and meets the increasing customer demand for the outsourcing of industrial gases activities,” said Guy Salzgeber, a member of Air Liquide’s executive committee, vice president for north and central Europe.

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By: Hilde Ovrebekk
+44 20 8652 3214

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