LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., May 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Air
Products (NYSE: APD) announced today it has successfully completed the acquisition of the Coal Gasification Technology licensing
business from Shell Global Solutions International B.V., a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc,
and formed a strategic alliance with Shell for residue gasification technology to refinery complexes. The acquisition includes
Shell's associated patent portfolios for solids (coal and biomass) gasification and sharing of patent rights for residue and
biomass gasification. Financial terms are not being disclosed for the agreement, initially announced in January.
These moves extend Air Products' offerings in synthesis gas (syngas) to provide turn-key sale-of-gas gasification facilities
for solids (coal and biomass) and liquids (refinery residues). In its sale-of-gas business model, Air Products finances, builds,
owns, operates and maintains the gas production plant, enabling customers to focus attention and capital on their primary
business.
"Air Products now has immediate access to Shell's proven technology and a successful business, with that technology already in
place at nearly 200 gasification systems delivering syngas around the world," said Air Products' Chairman, President and Chief
Executive Officer, Seifi Ghasemi . "Beyond a strong operating base, we now have a robust
technological foundation that builds on our core focus supplying the full range of industrial gases to our customers."
Gasification technologies offer a way to take varied lower-value feedstocks and convert them in a lower-emission manner into
syngas. Air Products can then provide this syngas to customers to make higher-value products. Shell has been at the
forefront of gasification research and innovation over the past 50 years, with reports showing 170 Shell gasification process
(SGP) and 34 coal gasifiers built, and currently, 96 SGP and 24 Shell coal gasification process gasifiers in operation
worldwide.
"The core value of this acquisition is the ability to build on more than 40 years of Air Products' gasification experience and
the opportunity to fully explore sale-of-gas outsourcing options to produce and supply syngas for customers planning to use
gasification. This is a great fit for us as Shell's strong track record in reliability and efficiency complements our own
sale-of-gas offerings, which have the highest reliability levels," Ghasemi added.
This acquisition of Shell's gasification process capabilities will further support previously announced projects by Air
Products such as Lu'An in Changzhi, Shanxi Province, China,
which the Company has successfully closed, as announced on its fiscal second
quarter earnings call, as well as for future projects.
Through the new strategic alliance between Air Products and Shell in liquids (residue) gasification, Air Products will offer
complete sale-of-gas residue gasification facilities to the refining industry and will be a project operating partner for the
supply of industrial gases in the strategic alliance. The alliance will leverage Shell's technology lead in the liquids (residue)
gasification area, as demonstrated at the world-scale Jazan combined
gasification/refinery project under construction in Jazan Economic City, Saudi Arabia.
For more information about Air Products' full offerings for gasification and syngas: www.airproducts.com/SyngasSolutions.
About Air Products
Air Products (NYSE: APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company's core industrial
gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and
petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural
gas process technology and equipment.
The Company had fiscal 2017 sales of $8.2 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and
has a current market capitalization of about $35 billion. Approximately 15,000 passionate, talented
and committed employees from a diversity of backgrounds are driven by Air Products' higher purpose to create innovative solutions
that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges facing customers, communities and the world. For
more information, visit www.airproducts.com.
About Royal Dutch Shell plc
Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock
exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 70 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas
exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and
shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit www.shell.com.
NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions
as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially
from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management,
including risk factors described in the company's Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30,
2017.
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SOURCE Air Products