BOC Gases Begins Supplying Hydrogen to Valero Refinery in Ohio.

Hydrogen helps produce cleaner burning fuels

MURRAY HILL, N.J. -- BOC Gases, a member of The Linde Group, a world leading industrial gases and engineering company, has begun supplying hydrogen for cleaner fuel production from its newest hydrogen plant in Lima, Ohio.

The plant, which is capable of producing over 20 million standard cubic feet a day of hydrogen, began operating this fall, supplying Valero's 170,000 barrel-a-day Lima oil refinery with hydrogen for use in a new diesel hydrotreating unit. The new unit will help Valero meet or exceed the standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Tier 2 cleaner fuel regulation for ultra low sulfur diesel fuel.

The hydrogen plant, located on Valero's site, is BOC's second in Lima. The other, a 12 MMSCFD plant supplies a nearby chemical facility for production of butanediol (BDO).

In 2006, BOC has had some 175 million standard cubic feet a day of hydrogen that came on-stream in the U.S., as hydrogen plants in Toledo, Ohio and Salt Lake City, Utah, also began operating.

"BOC is pleased to support Valero in its efforts to protect our environment. We worked with Valero to develop a cost effective solution that enables them to meet consumers' energy demands. The hydrogen capacity enables Valero to process a variety of crude oil slates, a key consideration given the increasing amount of heavier, sour crudes coming to market," said Jim Quain, business manager, BOC Process Gas Solutions.

Pat Murphy, North America regional business unit head for Linde, said, "Around the world, BOC and Linde have decades of expertise in designing and safely delivering hydrogen supply schemes tailored to meet customers' unique needs. Our plants' reliability, which is critical to this business, is among the highest and continually rising. We also have the highest commitment to ensuring the safety of our employees, customers and neighbors."

Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, with approximately 22,000 employees and annual revenues of more than $80 billion. The company owns and operates 18 refineries throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.3 million barrels per day, making it the largest refiner in North America. Valero is also one of the nation's largest retail operators with approximately 5,500 retail and branded wholesale outlets in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean under various brand names including Valero, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, and Beacon. Please visit www.valero.com for more information.

The Linde Group is a world leading industrial gases and engineering company with more than 53,000 employees working in around 70 countries worldwide. Following the acquisition of The BOC Group the company has gases and engineering sales of approximately $15 billion. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.

For more information, please see The Linde Group online at http://www.linde.com