Air Products’ West Gulf Coast Hydrogen Pipeline Network to Supply Total’s Deep Conversion Expansion Project in Texas

Air Products (NYSE: APD), the leading global hydrogen provider, today announced the signing of an agreement for long-term hydrogen supply with Total Petrochemicals USA, Inc. to support Total’s new deep conversion expansion project at its Port Arthur, Texas refinery. Air Products will supply Total with over 60 million standard cubic feet per day (MMSCFD) of hydrogen from its extensive West Gulf Coast hydrogen pipeline network beginning in 2010. Total’s Port Arthur refinerywill use the hydrogen to process alternative crudes and expand its output of cleaner burning transportation fuels.

“We are very pleased to expand our relationship with Total, one of the leading multinational oil and gas companies,” said Alex Masetti, vice president North America Tonnage Gases at Air Products. “We have invested in our West Gulf Coast hydrogen production and pipeline network to supply customers, such as Total, who depend on consistent and highly reliable supply of product.”

“Our Port Arthur expansion is an important and strategic project for Total. In order to have the ability to process alternative crudes properly we will need increased quantities of hydrogen,” said Steve Pocsik, vice president at Total. “We have worked with Air Products at other locations and regard their hydrogen supply as very reliable.”

Total’s Port Arthur refinery project includes building a 50,000-barrel-per-day coker, a desulfurization unit, a vacuum distillation unit and other related units. The new investments will increase the facility’s deep-conversion capacity and expand its ability to process heavy and sour crude oil, adding three million tons per year of ultra low sulfur automotive diesel to the refinery’s current production, and raising total output of all products combined to around 12 million tons per year.

Air Products also provides Total with hydrogen and other industrial gas products at Port Arthur and other sites in the Gulf Coast.

Air Products’ West Gulf Coast pipeline network is part of its overall Gulf Coast pipeline network, which extends from the Houston Ship Channel in Texas to Lake Charles, La., and from Baton Rouge to Norco, La., and east of New Orleans. This pipeline network provides a highly reliable hydrogen supply to approximately 50 refinery and process industry customers.