By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Apr. 25 -- A business unit of the BOC Group, Murray Hill, NJ, plans to assume full ownership of two South American hydrogen projects from Foster Wheeler Power Systems Inc., a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler Corp., Clinton, NJ.
The projects in Chile and Venezuela provide 60 Mcfd of hydrogen total to two oil refineries. BOC and Foster Wheeler's original investments in the projects were $70 million.
Dick Grant, BOC's Process Gas Solutions CEO, says the acquisition "enables us to strengthen our relationship with two important customers in Latin America," and also enlarges the firm's holdings in the high-growth hydrogen industry.
Gilles A. Renaud, Foster Wheeler's chief financial officer, said his firm is divesting the assets to reduce debt and concentrate on core businesses.
In Venezuela, the hydrogen plant supplies the Centro de Refinacion de Paraguana (formerly Lagoven).
The refining complex, with a 630,000-b/d crude capacity is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela SA. The plant started operating in 1997.
The Chilean hydrogen plant provides feedstock for a hydrocracker at the Petrox refinery in Talcahuano. Petrox SA is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chilean national oil company, Empresa Nacional de Petroleo (ENAP). The plant began operation in 1996.
