The Finnish company Fortum Oil and Gas Oy, the operator of Scandinavia`s biggest refinery, has commissioned Uhde GmbH to design and supply equipment for a new hydrogen plant. The 155,000 Nm3/hour plant will be built at Porvoo, around 30 km east of Helsinki and is due to come onstream in late autumn 2006.

The contract includes the licence and engineering for the Uhde steam reformer, supply of equipment and also supervision of the construction and commissioning work. The contract is worth approximately 25 million euros.

The hydrogen produced will be used to convert residual oil to sulphur free traffic fuels. The main component of this hydrogen plant will be the steam reformer, which will use Uhde technology characterised by high availability. The basic engineering contract for this hydrogen plant, which will also demonstrate a high degree of flexibility in relation to the gases used, was awarded to Uhde by Fortum Oil and Gas in mid-2002. In addition to natural gas, liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and other refinery gases can also be used in various ratios tailored to the refinery`s needs.

Following hydrogen plant contracts from Venezuela, Canada and Belarus, this contract from Finland is yet another success for Uhde in this technological field.

Uhde is a company in the Technologies segment of the ThyssenKrupp Group and has a workforce of more than 3,700 employees worldwide. The company`s activities focus on the design and construction of chemical and other industrial plants in the following fields: refining technology, plants for fertilisers, organic intermediates and polymers, electrolysis plants, gas technology, plants for oil, coal and residue gasification, coking technology and pharmaceuticals.

Contact:

Uhde GmbH
Marketing - Public Relations
Friedrich-Uhde-Strasse 15
D-44141 Dortmund
Phone +49 2 31 5 47-2043
Fax +49 2 31 5 47 2628
press@tkt-uhde.thyssenkrupp.com
http://www.thyssenkrupp.com/uhde