Neste Oil Corp. has let a contract to Linde Group, Munich, for long-term hydrogen supply at the 205,000-b/d Porvoo, Finland, refinery.
Under the agreement, Linde will invest in and be responsible for the construction of a hydrogen production plant at the refinery, while Neste Oil will build all necessary piping to connect the plant to the refinery, the companies said.
While the Porvoo refinery already has two hydrogen production units, Neste Oil’s plan is to replace hydrogen output from the oldest of these units with production from the new, more efficient unit, the companies said.
Construction work on the $139 million project will start immediately, with the unit scheduled to be commissioned in summer 2016, according to Neste Oil.
AGA, a subsidiary of Linde, will act as the plant’s operator.