Air Liquide Inks Asian Contracts

Air Liquide has signed a contract to supply oxygen and nitrogen to a new Shell ethylene cracker and ethylene glycol plant in Singapore. Air Liquide plans to add an air separation unit by September 2009 to join five existing units supplying Shell and others on Jurong Island. Meanwhile, Air Liquide and partner Denka Group plan to increase silane capacity by 500 metric tons per year at their Denal Silane joint venture in Japan. The two will invest a total of $40 million in the project, set to come onstream in 2008. Air Liquide says demand for silanes, used for making semiconductors, flat-panel displays, and solar cells, is growing by more than 20% per year.