Industrial Gases

khaleej times Tuesday, March 16, 2010

ARABIAN INDUSTRIAL GASES COMPANY

Trusted supplier of choice

Prasad Nair, Air Liquide, Pure Helium Gulf, UAE

Abdullah Al Sadi, Air Liquide Sohar Industrial Gases, Oman

Mustakim Patei (left) and Akrab Ali, Air Liquide Jebel Ali, UAE

AIR LIQUIDE

Gases that benefit industry, health and environment Air Liquide intends to invest one billion dollars into projects Latha Krishnan OXYGEN, nitrogen, hydrogen and rare gases have been at the core of the activities of Air Liquide since the company came into being in 1902. Today, more than a 100 years later, Air Liquide is the world leader in gases for industry, health and environment, supplying gas solutions from everything ranging from filling a balloon with helium and examining and helping patients in hospitals to fuelling satellites, water treatment, and in the manufacture of steel, petrochemicals and photovoltaic panels. The group is present in 75 countries and has 43,000 employees worldwide and records an annual turnover of 12 billion Euros.

In the Middle East, Air Liquide has been operating in Lebanon since 1928. With major investments in Kuwait, Oman, Qa-

tar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, operating a large facility in Jebel Ali, offices in Abu Dhabi, and its corporate headquarters for the Middle East in Dubai, Air Liquide employs more than 600 people in the region.

“We have already invested more than 500 million Euros in the Middle East in the last five years,” informs Jacques de Thezy, Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide Middle East & North Africa, citing acquisitions and start-up of new units in the region.

In 2008, Air Liquide acquired Pure Helium, a leading international supplier of helium and argon, based in Dubai and last year it acquired 75 per cent of Al Khafrah Industrial Gases in Saudi Arabia, to accelerate expansion in the region. During 2009, the company commissioned the world’s largest carbon monoxide unit for Saudi International Petrochemicals Company, signed a long-term supply agreement with Oryx GTL in Qatar to supply oxygen, and commissioned a new nitrogen unit to serve the needs of an aromatic facility in Oman.

“We see a big potential for growth and are quite bullish about this region. Since we work only on a Business-to-Business

(B2B) basis and are not much exposed to the public directly, we were not much affected by the global recession. Moreover, our strong financial position has helped us to grow at a healthy rate here and around the world,” says Thezy.

Growth in the business has been continuously stimulated by Research and Development (R&D) and Air Liquide’s five major R&D centres continue to keep the company in the forefront of innovation bringing out and patenting new technologies and solutions not only to produce gas but also to use it.

These centres are also constantly innovating new applications. One such technology is that of injecting liquid nitrogen into ready-mix concrete during summer months to keep it cool.

Another is the process of quick-freezing fresh fish in fish farms for export.

“Such new applications will open new market segments and enhance our presence in the region. Air Liquide intends to invest another one billion dollars into projects here and with our two big strengths of innovative technology and access to capital we believe we are in the right position to succeed,” says Thezy.

EMIRATES INDUSTRIAL GASES COMPANY

Providing customer-driven total gas solutions

Latha Krishnan

Ala Osama Mikdadi

Nuclear technology and hydrogen fuels are coming to the UAE and EIGC is preparing to serve related industries

ESTABLISHED in 1978, Emirates Industrial Gases Company (EIGC) is one of the leading industrial gas suppliers in the United Arab Emirates. With a large and loyal customer base including government and private entities, the company enjoys a significant market share in the country.

Its four branches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman and Fujairah are supported by a huge logistics operation and services allowing it to meet the demands of its customers. Being part of the Refrigeration and Oxygen Company (ROC) Group based in Kuwait, EIGC also supports ventures in the GCC countries, Egypt and Jordan while being a major shareholder of Aircryo Inc.,

an air separation plant manufacturer based in the USA. In the UAE, EIGC has the largest capacity with two ASU plants in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah producing total quantity of more than 300 TPD. While supplying gases to a wide variety of industries, EIGC is also constantly improving and developing the technology to provide the right solutions to its customers. At the same time the company does not compromise on health and safety of its employees and its concern for the environment. In addition to ISO 9001: 2003 quality accreditation, EIGC operations are on par with American standards and also have the approval from the Department of Transport (DOT) in the USA. From being the producer and supplier of gases, equipments and services, EIGC is now moving

to becoming applications and solution provider.

“Since 2006 we have moved into long-term BOOM (build, own, operate and maintain) partnerships with two major clients – Guardian in Ras Al Khaimah that produces float-glass and Al Ghurair Steel Mill in Abu Dhabi. We have installed and commissioned these on-site facilities for continuous supply of gases meeting current and in anticipation of future demand.

“We are also part of a joint venture with a major international company to produce and supply CO2 for EOR applications,” informs Ala Osama Mikdadi, General Manager of EIGC. Nuclear technology and hydrogen fuels are coming to the UAE and EIGC is preparing to serve related industries in future. The company, which has experienced steady growth over the years, continues to go forward conservatively.

Arabian Industrial Gases Company is the fastest growing producer and distributor of quality industrial and specialty gases in the UAE ARABIAN Industrial Gases Company (AIGCo) established in 1977 was amongst the pioneering companies to have entered into the industrial gases production sector in the UAE. With more than 30 years of experience in the local market, today AIGCo is the fastest growing producer and distributor of quality industrial and specialty gases in the UAE that has built a reputation as the most trusted supplier of choice in the country and the region.

AIGCo supplies gases to a wide portfolio of customers ranging from the ship repair companies to petroleum concerns and industrial facilities. The customer base is spread throughout the UAE and also in other GCC countries. AIGCo provides common industrial gases in liquid form and a wide range of compressed gases. Whatever the customer needs, AIGCo has the appropriate means of supply via cylinders, cylinder bundles, tube trailers or its own fleet of tankers.

Our Services: AIGCo can produce and deliver pure gases and gas mixtures for research, diagnostic and calibration applications.

All products are accompanied by full documentation of compliance and certification. Our services include: • • • • • • • • •

Gas applications, research and development.

Gas systems design and installation.

Technical support.

Audit services.

On-site equipment operations and maintenance.

Fabrication of cylinders racks and baskets.

Gas equipment rental.

Gas equipment maintenance and testing.

Pipeline purging, line inserting, pressure/leak testing.

Our Customers: AIGCo, over the decades, has been catering to the changing needs of the market, offering an uninterrupted supply of the various industrial gases with total commitment to the highest standards of quality and safety to a growing clientele from a wide spectrum of industries, including: • Petrochemical • Oil & Gas • Chemical • Metal Fabrication • Glass • Food & Beverage • Healthcare & Medical • Pharmaceutical • Diving • Plastics • Utilities • Water & Wastewater Treatment

OUR PRODUCTS • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Oxygen Nitrogen Argon Acetylene Helium Carbon Dioxide Breathing Air Hydrogen Dry Ice Ammonia Nitrous Oxide Diving Mixtures Specialty Gas Mixtures Refrigerants Welding Mixtures Ethylene Oxide Mixtures Pure Ethylene Oxide

khaleej times Tuesday, March 16, 2010

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economies in the area, while the RasGas (Qatar) helium plant (on-stream in 2006) has reached higher production rates of late.

New sources and expansions to helium capacity and production are set to come on-stream in the Middle East in the next half decade, as well as in Australia, the US and the African continent.

ITH Middle East countriies investing billions to emerge as the region’s industrial gas capital, there’s plenty of global interest in this dynamic market.

Not to mention our own eager observers here at gasworld magazine.

We’ve all seen the region’s industrial gas sector grow considerably in recent years and interest in the Middle East has developed accordingly.

Without eulogising too much, it’s easy to see why. After all, the Middle East is a gases market with vast resources, an attractive business climate, and huge potential. Such potential is spread across a wide range of sectors and applications, from the oil and gas industry to the water treatment market.

It’s for this reason that industrial gas demand in the region has risen quite so much, driven by project activity and investments throughout the Middle East countries.

Traditional growth drivers Aside from some topical emerging applications, there are other well-established growth drivers that are currently catching the eye.

The oil and petrochemicals industry is naturally the most notable growth driver when thinking of this region. Today, with oil prices back above the $70 per barrel level, the region is buzzing once more and thought to be recovering at a much faster pace than many others. There’s a renewed zest for the petrochemicals sector in the region too.

Saudi Arabia leads the way and, having established its third major petrochemicals complex on the Kingdom’s West Coast at Rabigh, the Ministry of Oil and Royal Commission are looking to exploit the significant reserves of oil, gases and byproducts that it boasts.

A spirited steel sector is also shimmering at present and posing the question, can the Middle East be a major metals market in the future?

In short, the answer to that would probably be yes. The Middle East’s steel market outlook appears to be especially ebullient, according to reports.

Demand for steel is expected to rise again over the next five years, prompting renewed oxygen consumption. Although steel prices were expected to remain subdued for 2009, the long-term outlook seems more optimistic now because oil prices have rebounded as expected in 2010 and economic growth and capital invest-

ment is fuelled.

So positive is the outlook for steel in the region, that the Middle East was reportedly the only region to register a positive growth of 2.2 per cent in the first eight months of 2009, compared to the same period of 2008.

With demand and widespread infrastructure development in something of a high growth mode, steel consumption is buoyant. Going forward then, why is the Middle East likely to grow into this major metals market? Put simply, due to lowcost fuel and energy costs — factors that similarly, are likely to ensure the region will remain the lowest cost producer of chemicals and plastics in the near future.

Metals production and smelting are high-energy processes and among the first industries to suffer at the hands of the recession. In the Middle East, however, the advantages of low-cost feedstock are set to propel the region forward as a metals producer.

Helium Considered as part of the Rest of the World (ROW) bracket of countries, as opposed to the US and Europe for example, the Middle East contributes to the ROW region’s three per cent share of the global market.

The region has contributed to strong demand growth in recent years, driven by the industrialisation of a number of emerging

The numbers There are clearly a lot of reasons to be interested in the Middle East. But let’s get to the crunch of it all — the figures so far.

At the heart of all the hyperbole and allure, lies a regional gases market valued at around $1.34bn in 2008.

Saudi Arabia leads the way as the largest gas market in the region, with a dominant 31 per cent share of revenues — totalling around $411m. Turkey actually comprises the second largest share of revenues at 16 per cent or $211m, while Iran accounts for 12 per cent of the Middle East market at a gas business worth $164m.

The UAE boasts industrial gas industries valued at $120m respectively or nine per cent of the regional market.

It’s interesting to note that the Middle East market is still dominated by the independents — with independent producers holding a commanding 76 per cent share of the market and independent distributors actively operating a 10 per cent share.

Linde (at seven per cent) and Air Liquide (at four per cent) are the most notable major gas players to have penetrated the region’s industrial gas business, but there’s clearly still plenty of scope for the global gas community to enter the market and develop it even further.

Manufacturing, as an end-use industry, accounts for approximately 38 per cent of gas revenues or just over $510m. Chemicals and petrochemicals, including the downstream plastics and by-product sectors, drive up to 29 per cent of industrial gas revenues at $391m and the typically non-cyclical healthcare sector drives gas demand to the tune of $125m of revenues — or nine per cent of the market.

Outlook It’s a promising outlook ahead. While the Middle East accounts for only a two to three per cent share of the global industrial gas business, leading independent industrial gas consultancy Spiritus Consulting forecasts around a 10 per cent per annum growth rate for the region over the next five years.

At the forefront of industrial gas developments WIDELY REGARDED as the leading global industrial gas magazine, gasworld magazine is in circulation in over 140 countries around the world and regularly provides a regional market analysis.

Published on a monthly basis, gasworld magazine is produced from its offices in Cornwall, UK, and appeals to a truly international readership, aiming at companies involved with all aspects of the industrial gas business — from production through to distribution and end-use applications.

As well as keeping its readers up-to-date and at the forefront of the latest industry news, gasworld magazine also provides the industrial gas community with regular in-depth and insightful interviews, profiles and special features and much more. A carefully chosen selection of this content is translated into Spanish, Russian and Chinese languages for its global audience. All content is also uploaded to the comprehensive gasworld website, updated daily and offering an expansive archive of content available to subscribers.

Dedicated to broadening its readership, gasworld has also established bi-monthly Chinese and Russian language publications, distributed throughout these respective regions.

At gasworld there is also a keen eye on the Middle East region — an attractive market for the industrial gases business and a positive climate for investment.

This interest has been both complemented and heightened in recent years with the advent of gasworld’s conference events. The first ever gasworld Middle East Conference took place in Dubai in December 2007, providing a platform for discussion, debate and the opportunity to discuss both the issues that matter and the Middle East as an emerging industrial gases market.

After proving a resounding success and following conferences in South Africa (2008) and South America (2009), the conference roadshow returned to the Middle East just a few months ago with gasworld’s Middle East Conference 2009 in Abu Dhabi.