Praxair Announces Major Contract With Jiangsu Sopo for Industrial Gases Supply

Praxair Announces Major Contract With Jiangsu Sopo for Industrial Gases Supply

January 25, 2007

    SHANGHAI, China, Jan. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Praxair
China, a subsidiary of Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) announced
that it has signed a major contract with Jiangsu SOPO
(Group) Co., Ltd, for the supply of industrial gases to
SOPO"s acetic acid plant.
 
    Praxair will design, build, operate, and own a
state-of-the-art large air separation unit (ASU) which is
due to come on stream in 2009. The ASU will have a capacity
of 3,000 tons of oxygen per day.  It will be the largest
single plant for sale of gas and also the largest
single-train ASU to be built in Asia. 

    The oxygen plant will be integrated with a
state-of-the-art, low cost coal gasification process for
SOPO"s acetic acid plant.

    In addition to the oxygen produced by the plant,
Praxair will also supply liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon
to the rapidly growing market in East China.

    Jiangsu SOPO (Group) Co., Ltd, the largest acetic acid
producer in China with a 30% market share, is located in
Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province northwest of Shanghai, one of
the fastest growing industrial regions in the world. SOPO is
focused on improving the cost competitiveness of its
feedstocks for acetic acid production. Acetic acid is
widely used in the production of adhesives, textiles,
paint, paper, polyester fiber and plastic bottles.

    "After a thorough evaluation of potential
suppliers, SOPO chose Praxair to supply industrial gases
for our project. We are confident in Praxair"s
capability as a world-class supplier to build large plants
and in its commitment to high-quality products and
service," said Song Qinhua, President, General Manager
of Jiangsu SOPO (Group) Co., Ltd. "We are deeply
impressed with Praxair"s professionalism, expertise
and company management and look forward to working with
Praxair."
 
    "SOPO has developed rapidly in recent years under
its new management team to become one of the largest
chemical enterprises in China and we are pleased to be
their supplier," said David Chow, President, Praxair
China. "This is our single largest investment in China
to date and will become our flagship site.  It demonstrates
our confidence in China and expands our leadership position
as a gas supplier.  More important, integrating oxygen into
a coal gasification process allows Praxair to share our
technology in advanced control systems and systems
integration."  
 
    About Praxair China

    Praxair China, a subsidiary of Praxair Inc., is a
leading global industrial gases supplier in China, serving
a diverse group of industries through the production, sale,
distribution and application of industrial gases. With over
1000 employees, Praxair China is headquartered in Shanghai
and operates 13 wholly owned companies and 11 joint
ventures. More information on Praxair China is available on
the Internet at http://www.praxair.com.cn 

    About Praxair

    With 28,000 employees and operations in more than 30
countries, Praxair, Inc. (NYSE:PX) is a global Fortune 300
company. Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in
North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide,
with 2005 sales of $7.7 billion. The company supplies
atmospheric, process and specialty gases, high-performance
coatings and related services and technologies. Praxair
products, services and technologies bring productivity and
environmental benefits to a wide range of industries: food
and beverages, healthcare, semiconductors, chemicals,
refining, primary metals and metal fabrication, as well as
other areas of general industry. More information on
Praxair is available on the Internet at
http://www.praxair.com 

    About Jiangsu SOPO

    Jiangsu SOPO (Group) Co., Ltd was founded in 1958. With
more than 4,200 employees, SOPO has developed into a
large-scale enterprise focusing on chemicals while actively
involved in biochemical and material chemical fields. SOPO
has total assets of RMB 3.4 billion (US$450 million) ) and
2006 sales of RMB 3.73 billion (US$479 million). It is
listed as one of the 100 top petrochemical enterprises in
China. More information is available on the Internet at
http://www.sopo.com.cn 












    For more information, please contact: 

     Mr. Li Zhengmin 
     Product and Marketing Director
     Praxair (China) Investment Co., Ltd 
     Tel:   [phone] 
     Fax:   [phone] 
     Email: [e-mail] 


SOURCE   Praxair (China) Investment Co., Ltd