North West Upgrading Selects Praxair to Supply Oxygen in Alberta
Praxair, Inc. announced that North West Upgrading Inc. (NWU), has selected Praxair Canada Inc., the largest industrial gas supplier in Canada, to provide the industrial gases needed for its heavy oil Upgrader in Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada. North West’s process eliminates production of coke, uses gasification to make hydrogen from the heaviest components of bitumen, and enables the capture of pure carbon dioxide.
Under the agreement, Praxair will build a large state-of-the art air separation plant, equipped with advanced process controls and energy-efficient process cycles.
“NWU is pleased to select Praxair as its partner for meeting its industrial gases requirement for this project,” said Rob Pearce, senior vice president, corporate development, North West Upgrading. “This signifies another important step in bringing North West’s project to fruition.”
“We are proud to have been selected by NWU for this major project and are committed to growing with and providing value to NWU and the Heartland,” said Rob Hossack, managing director, Praxair Canada Inc.
About Praxair Canada Inc.
Praxair Canada Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX). Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2007 sales of $9.4 billion. Praxair products, services and technologies bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.
About North West Upgrading Inc.
North West Upgrading Inc. is an Alberta-based company building an independent, heavy oil upgrader in Alberta’s industrial heartland. The Upgrader will significantly increase the economic value of Alberta’s bitumen and heavy oil production by producing light, low sulphur product, 85% of which is ultra-low-sulphur diesel and diluent. North West’s process eliminates production of coke, uses gasification to make hydrogen from the heaviest components of bitumen and enables the capture of pure carbon dioxide. A commercial arrangement to sell carbon dioxide for enhanced oil recovery makes North West the only upgrader designed with an integrated carbon dioxide management solution. The North West Upgrader will have a total processing capacity of 231,000 barrels per day of blended feedstock over three phases. Site preparation is complete and the first phase of operations is expected to commence in 2012. Please see: www.northwestupgrading.com.
