Gas for oil refinery

BOC has signed a letter of intent to supply hydrogen to the Premcor Refining Group's oil refinery in Lima, Ohio.

BOC is investing approximately $40 million in equipment and pipelines in order to supply hydrogen to Premcor’s 170,000 barrel-per-day refinery and to other Lima area customers.

BOC expects to begin construction on the plant in the second quarter of 2005 and to start supplying hydrogen in the second quarter of 2006. BOC’s partner for the project is Linde BOC Process Plants of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“BOC will provide Premcor with a cost-effective source of hydrogen to enable the refinery to meet their production requirements for cleaner burning, ultra-low sulphur gasoline and diesel fuels,” said Alan Iantosca, global vice president, BOC Process Systems. “These fuels will meet or exceed the standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 2 clean fuels regulation.”

In early March, BOC began construction on a $100 million hydrogen and utilities complex to supply BP and Sunoco oil refineries in

Toledo, Ohio

. That plant, which will supply over 120 million standard cubic feet a day to customers, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2005.