Americas
Acquisition in Texas | further helium mou signed
EUROPE
News in brief News in brief Praxair acquires Acetylene Russia asuOxygen staRt-up Company plans foR(AOC) aiR liquide Air Liquide is pursuing its has PRAXAIR Distribution, Inc. long-termHarlingen, development in acquired Texas-based russia andOxygen starting-up a new air Acetylene Company separation unit (ASu)ofthat will (AOC), a distributor Praxair produce oxygen and one nitrogen in industrial gases and of the the Special economic Zone of top 10 independent gas and Alabuga in Tatarstan. welding products distributors Tatarstan is one of the in the US. most economically developed The acquisition of AOC allows republics in the russian Praxair to further expandisitsthe Federation. its economy packaged presence in of fifth largestgases in russia, in terms Texas, having recently gross regional product. acquired One of two the independent main drivers ofdistributors this economy inisthe second half of 2011 that a significant manufacturing serve the industrial Houston area, namely capacity; production National Alloy Texas Welders constitutes up and to 40% of the region’sCompany. gross regional product. Supply Formed in The new state-of-the-artand ASu 1932 and majority-owned will produce perWolf day controlled by200 the tonnes founding of oxygen nitrogenfrom to supply family, AOCand operates 24 the current and futurecentral needs of locations throughout and industrialTexas, customers. it is fully southern including four standardised, cost efficient, cylinder-filling plants. comes in sales, fully packaged AOC’s technical support modules andservices offers many and related are largely benefits, including compact directed to the energy sector, design and layout and simple complementing Praxair’s pipeline operations and maintenance. Air and bulkisliquid gas to offering to Liquide planning develop petrochemical its business in customers Alabuga by along the Gulf Coast. creating a pipeline network and developing the supply chain.
subscribe now to Cold Facts tHE magazinE For CryogEniCs Join the Cryogenic Society of America at www.cryogenicsociety.org
8
10
ASU start-up | Footprint grows
Helium projects agreement signed GCe expands eastern europe between MATHESON and position Gazprom after significant acquisition in Russia a Memorandum of
in which they may establish
“
long-term cooperation Understanding (MOU) has been “GCE GAS ConTRol Equipment has an expressed in (GCE) now the second growas in marketing growth areastosuch and signedis between MATHESON strategy largest player within the market markets and helium has, during recent logistics, production and Gazprom, setting out for industrial years, its presence andincreased technology. MATHESON’s theequipment basis for for their future gas applications following in China India. This parentand company, Taiyo Nippon cooperationininRussia the development the acquisition a new group. gives us a strong Sanso Corporation, is the of the latter’s of substantial helium acquisition The dealinincreases position in another of the BRIC leading industrial gases reserves Eastern Siberia. GCE’s annual turnover to Deputy countries andinis Japan therefore company and the Alexander Medvedev, approximately – an welllargest in line supplier with our own of helium to Chairman of €120m the Management increase of more than 10%. growth strategy,” Hermansson the Japanese market, a market Committee of Gazprom JSC In the transaction GCE concluded positively in a ideally situated for supply from and Director General of acquired parts of the Russian statement. the Russian Far East. Gazprom export LLC, and company ZAo Tradehouse According to Kornbluth, Phil Kornbluth, Executive Krass, and its head office in “Matheson and Taiyo Nippon Vice-President, Saint Petersburg. International GCE takes Related article online Sanso are excited about the & Helium for MATHESON, over 45 employees based in a 25 years of continuous growth – GCE looking to the future prospects of working with memberand of the Taiyo Nippon Moscow St Petersburg. after anniversary celebrations Gazprom to commercialise Sanso Corporation (TNSC) www.gasworld.com/features/2000789.article GCE also gets the exclusive their Eastern Siberian helium group involved signing right to awere product rangeinthat reserves. Gazprom’s plant the MOU.and, in an efficient completes way,Pursuant broadenstoGCE’s existing should be well positioned to the terms of the product offer. supply China, Japan, other MOU, MATHESON intends to “Atas thea same timepartner we nowto Asian markets and, in time, the act strategic have an exclusive right US. We look forward to a long, Gazprom, not only astoan1,500 offproducts, with all necessary mutually beneficial relationship taker of significant volumes Ghost approvals. It gives us the with Gazprom Group.” of helium from the projects, opportunity On October 30th, Gazprom but also astoaintroduce provider these of products in the GCE network helium industry knowledge had adopted the final in other regions of the world – and expertise. The parties investment decision on primarily South America and have agreed to explore ways pre-development of the Eastern Europe,” said GCE CEo Michael Hermansson. The products are primarily cylinder regulators, welding torches and accessories.
Chayandinskoye field being of top priority for the Yakutia gas production centre. Gazprom will build up a gas pipeline from Yakutia to Vladivostok via Khabarovsk in order to transport gas produced from the Chayandinskoye field, thus triggering large-scale gas processing development in Eastern Russia. A new helium production facility in the vicinity of Blagoveshensk is tentatively scheduled to commence production of liquid helium around 2018, commensurate with the extraction of natural gas from the new field.
“it gives us the opportunity to introduce these products in other regions of the world – primarily south america and eastern europe”
Far from over... Industry to challenge draft helium legislation? As talk of the Helium Cliff grew recently, draft legislation was unveiled for future stewardship of the US’ Federal Helium Reserve. gasworld looks at the discussion draft and why this story appears to be far from conclusion. Page 30
© GCE
Linde engineers developing alternatives to helium in a number of applications Growth and expansion for Wessington FACED with a sourcing shortage of helium, several AfTER SECURInG contracts segments of industry, working with around the withcompanies Linde North America globe, Wessington Cryogenics engineers, are welcoming new will now be creating additional product developments that lead jobs and requires more to lower helium requirements, floor space. or replacing helium altogether, The company, which has without significantly sacrificing been in operation for 28 years, application quality. designs and makes specialist Berkmanns, National gasJoe storage tanks. It received Technical Manager for Linde orders for 40ft iso-containers Canada, said, and a number of “Helium 60,000 litre has become the fluid of cryogenic tanks. choice for many industrial Wessington Cryogenics processes, mostlyPaul because Managing Director, Rowe, of its just physical thermal stated one ofand these orders properties. However, there
plastic deformation upon impact are certain areas where we with high speeds. These high have successfully substituted containers, biggerachieved throughput is enough for the speedsa were in the for helium, or company reduced the world leading 10ft with ISo its to construct in helium a year, but the withof ourpast using helium amount of required, and exiting of company a number low density as a range propellant. little orhas no had adverse effect on containers 20ft ISo’s,” Rowe continued. of orders resulting it Developments with regards quality,placed, productivity or in process “new, larger and capacity needing to expand – and quickly. to nozzle gas cranes supply robustness.” “We are using a 15,000 square are being installed to assist technology allow users to use Berkmanns points to the cold foot factory about 10 miles away with these new bigger tanks, nitrogen now in many cases. spray coating process as one including a new 60,000 litre tank from our plant in Rainton Bridge In the metal fabrication example. Cold spraying is a recently ordered.” South, in Sunderland, UK,” he industry, shielding gas mixtures coating technology that differs “We only moved into this said. for arc welding can also be from new traditional spray building about two and a half “This facility thermal will, for the usewe less helium. processes in temperature ago. Andtonow need immediate future, assist in the and yearsmodified When it comes to leak velocity of the powder space. It’s a great building of ISo frames, skidparticles units even more detection, there are arerelated deposited on the targetsituation to be inhowever, for Wessington andthat other products. This understood to he be certain areas surface. Theinparticles all our staff, releases space our mainremain site to and for that have been untouchable solid at low temperature and concluded.” start building new 40ft lnG ISo where helium is concerned. adhere to the surface through www.gasworld.com/europe
www.gasworld.com/america