Germany's Linde to Build Gas Production Plants with Sinopec Subsidiary

Linde AG (Munich, Germany), an international leader in gas and engineering, has signed a contract with Sinopec Sichuan Vinylon Works (SVW), a subsidiary of China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) (Beijing), to build gas production facilities that will feed SVW's chemical engineering companies.

Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, TX) reports that, according to the contract, Linde and SVW will initially invest $33 million each to set up a joint venture by June in the Chongqing Chemical Engineering Park. The joint venture's first project will be a gas-separation facility that is expected to be built by 2011. The plant will be designed to produce 1,500 tons of oxygen per year and feed into SVW's new 300,000-ton-per-year vinyl acetate monomer facility. Linde's engineering division will be in charge of construction. The long-term goal of the joint venture is to expand production and build a synthesis gas facility to meet demand for SVW and other affiliated companies.

Founded in 1879, Linde now operates two principle businesses: gas, divided into industrial and medical gases, and engineering. Linde Gas supplies chemicals in addition to gases. Linde Engineering designs and builds large chemical plants to produce oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen and carbon monoxide.

SVW is one of China's largest integrated companies that produce chemical fiber products using natural gases as the main material. It is the only Sinopec company involved in the natural gas sector.

www.linde.de