China: Air Liquide signs a new long-term contract with Xinneng Energy

Air Liquide recently signed a new long-term contract with Xinneng Energy Company, a subsidiary of ENN Ecological Holdings Company (ENN). Under the terms of the new agreement, Air Liquide will invest more than 60 million euros in an ASU (Air Separation Unit), with a total capacity of 2,700 tonnes of oxygen per day.

Expected to start operations in the second quarter of 2018, the new ASU will supply industrial gases including oxygen and nitrogen to ENN Ecological Holdings Company. The gases will be used in the customer's Light Hydrocarbon Project, which produces 200,000 tonnes per year of light hydrocarbon, a chemical product widely used in the energy industry.

The ASU, located in ENN's industrial park in Dalateqi of Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, will be built by Air Liquide's Engineering and Construction teams using state-of-the-art technologies to offer energy efficiency as well as optimal reliability and safety, and will be owned and operated by Air Liquide.

Zhao Yifeng, CEO of ENN Ecological Holdings Company, commented: "By combining our own innovative technologies with the leading technologies and international expertise from Air Liquide, we ensure the improved energy efficiency of the project. With this project as a start, we look forward to enhancing the cooperation with Air Liquide in the near future."

François Venet, Vice-President, Asia Pacific and a member of Air Liquide group's Executive Committee, commented: "We are honored to be a partner for this significant project. By leveraging our existing resources, as well as our experience in Inner Mongolia and Western China, we will support the flawless development and operation of this project.”