DANBURY, US: Praxair Canada Inc, a subsidiary of Praxair Inc, has entered into a long-term agreement with North West Redwater Partnership (NWR) to build, own and operate an air separation facility at NWR’s Sturgeon Refinery near Edmonton, Alberta. The new, state-of-the-art air separation plant will be able to produce 2,000 tonne per day of oxygen and associated volumes of nitrogen and merchant argon. The plant is scheduled to start-up in 2016 and will be Praxair’s third, world-scale plant in the province.
The NWR gasification process will consume oxygen to produce hydrogen, which is used to upgrade bitumen into diesel and other higher value hydrocarbon products. Initially, the refinery will convert 50,000 barrels per day of bitumen, supplied by the Alberta Petroleum Marketing Commission (75 per cent) and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (25 per cent). This refinery will be the first built in Alberta in over 30 years.
“Praxair has been supporting this project for several years and we are pleased to continue our participation as it moves into the construction and operating phases. Our extensive experience in both Alberta and supporting refining operations globally enables us to play an important role in NWR’s ongoing growth,” said Matt White, President, Praxair Canada.
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