Air Products announced it has signed a long-term contract with Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical Co Ltd and will build, own and operate the largest on site air separation unit order ever awarded to an industrial gas company.

The facility to be located in Yulin, Shaanxi Province, China will include multiple ASU trains and produce 12,000 tonnes per day of oxygen and significant tonnage volumes of nitrogen and compressed dry air for Shaanxi's coal chemical plant. The Air Products ASU trains are scheduled to be operational in 2014.

The industrial gases produced by Air Products' ASUs and supplied to Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical Company at Yulin will be used to help produce one million tonnes per year of oil products.

Mr Steve Jones Air Products' China president said "We are honored to have reached this milestone and to supply this very large industrial gas demand for Shaanxi Future Energy Chemical Company. We believe our worldwide track record of industrial gas facility safety and production reliability was important to gaining this long-term contract. Winning this new order allows Air Products to supply two important customers, both located in Shaanxi Province, from the two largest ASU train orders ever awarded to an industrial gas company."

Mr Qiwen Sun general manger of Shaanxi Future Energy Chemicals Co Ltd said "We are pleased to sign the ASU gases supply contract with Air Products today. We believe that through close cooperation with Air Products, we can build and operate a world class coal chemical plant."

In 2010, Air Products had announced, what at that time, was the largest single ASU on site order ever committed to an industrial gas company. Scheduled to be operational in mid-2013 in Weinan, Shaanxi Province, China, that facility includes three ASU trains producing over 8,200 TPD of oxygen, over 3,100 TPD of nitrogen, and over 375 TPD of compressed dry air, along with producing liquid products for the merchant market.