BOC Expands Contract with Steel Manufacturer POCOS in Korea; New Hydrogen Plant to Meet Growing Customer Demand.

Singapore -- BOC (LSE:BOC), one of the leading industrial gases companies in Korea and in Asia, will add hydrogen production capacity at its facility in Pohang, Korea, to supply gases via pipeline to Pohang Coated Steel, Co. Ltd. (POCOS), located in Korea's growing Pohang Steel Complex.

POCOS, located in Pohang City, Korea, is an affiliate of POSCO, one of the world's leading steel producers. POCOS' main businesses include producing galvanized steel sheets for construction, automobile parts, pipes and color sheets, and aluminized steel sheets mainly used for car exhaust systems, home appliances and other heat-related items.

Since 1991, BOC Korea has been meeting the gases needs of POCOS and other local area electric arc furnace and controlled atmospheres customers, from its production facilities in Pohang. BOC has two air separation units (ASUs) in the Pohang area, which have a combined capacity of 577 tonnes per day.

As part of the new, fifteen-year agreement with POCOS, BOC will install a 1,200 cubic meter per hour steam methane reformer-type hydrogen plant, which will be commissioned by June. The gaseous hydrogen will be piped to POCOS through an existing 5.2 km pipeline. BOC also supplies POCOS by pipeline with gaseous nitrogen.

Nigel Jewkes, vice president metals marketing, BOC, said, "BOC has established a relationship as a reliable supplier and business partner to POCOS during the past 14 years. BOC is the sole industrial gases supplier in the Pohang Steel Making Industrial Complex and has a strong position in the Pohang area. This is another example of BOC continuing to deliver tailored gas solutions to customers in Asia using the company's international network of resources and expertise."

Over the last year, BOC has announced several other major contracts with steel manufacturers, including Maanshan Iron & Steel Co., Ltd. (Ma Steel), one of China's premier iron and steel producers; Jindal Vijaynagar Steel Limited (JVSL), at Bellary, Karnataka, India; and TAGAL, a 50/50 joint venture between German steel-maker Thyssen-Krupp Stahl AG and China's Angang New Steel Co. Ltd.

The BOC Group (LSE:BOC), the worldwide industrial gases, vacuum technologies and distribution services company, serves two million customers in more than 50 countries. It employs 43,000 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 www.boc.com.