Linde land in Romania

recently received an order from

for the lump sum turn-key installation of an LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) recovery plant in

. The contract is worth in excess of €70m.

Petrom is the largest corporation in Romania and the largest gas and oil producer in Southeastern Europe. In December 2004, Petrom was privatised becoming part of the OMV group, which is the majority shareholder.

‘This is an important step in the development of the Eastern European market for the Linde Engineering division’, said Dr Aldo Belloni, member of the Executive Board of The Linde Group. ‘Especially in Romania, joining the European Union in 2007, we see great potential for further highly interesting projects. By applying the latest European codes and standards we are aiming to set a new benchmark in Romania's petrochemical industry.’

The new LPG recovery facility is scheduled for completion in the second half of 2008 and will replace the existing older-generation plant. The new plant will allow for increased capacity, recovery rate and energy efficiency. Each year more than 100,000 t of LPG product will be separated from natural gas with a recovery rate of up to 99%. The LPG is transported 300km via rail to a Petrom-owned refinery and petrochemical complex for further processing. The treated light natural gas is supplied as sales gas to the national gas distribution system.