BOC Announces U.S. Helium Price Increase.

MURRAY HILL, N.J. -- BOC (NYSE: BOX) announced that it will increase U.S. helium prices between 8 and 10 percent, effective October 1, 2005, or as contracts allow.

This increase in price is necessary to offset the higher costs of purchasing and producing refined helium. The increased helium costs have resulted mainly from purchases of increasingly expensive, high cost crude helium from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management required to offset shrinking supplies from lower cost private sources. The cost of refined helium purchased from third parties and the cost of crude helium purchased from private sources has also continued to rise.

This increase will affect customers purchasing helium in all forms: liquid dewars, gaseous tube trailers, and bulk liquid containers.

BOC operates one of the world's largest liquid helium refining facilities in Otis, Kansas, and also has access to helium produced by sources in Wyoming, Utah, Poland, Russia, and Algeria. From these facilities, BOC transports and markets the liquid helium through a worldwide network of 48 local distribution facilities. BOC is the world's leading supplier of helium to diverse markets including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), optical fiber manufacturing, welding and semiconductor manufacturing. BOC has also developed industry-leading helium recycling capability.

The BOC Group (NYSE: BOX), the world-wide industrial gases, vacuum technologies and distribution services company, serves two million customers in more than 50 countries. It employs 30,000 people and had annual sales of over $8.3 billion in 2004. Further information about The BOC Group may be obtained on the Internet at http://www.boc.com.