BOC India Limited, a member of The Linde Group, has signed a 15-year long-term contract to supply gases to Rourkela Steel Plant for the planned expansion of their steel works. To support the new contract, BOC India is planning to invest nearly Rs 500 Crores in a new state-of- the-art air separation plant and ancillary equipment with the capacity to meet Rourkela Steel Plant’s requirements as well as the growing merchant demand for liquid products in eastern India.
Rourkela Steel Plant, one of the integrated steel plants operated by Steel Authority of India (SAIL), is undergoing an expansion of its facility. It will increase its annual steel production capacity to 3.2 million tonnes by adding a new blast furnace and converter.
For its expansion project, Rourkela also required new Air Separation Units (ASU) to meet incremental requirements for oxygen, nitrogen and argon, and had invited bids to install the units on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis. BOC India won the contract under competitive bidding with a unique solution to meet the expanded facility’s demand and serve the growing merchant market in the region.
Under the new contract, BOC India will supply 2600 tonnes of gases per day to Rourkela using two new Air Separation Units that it plans to install. In addition to meeting Rourkela’s gas requirements, BOC also will produce nearly 400 tonnes of addition liquid products per day, including oxygen, nitrogen and argon. BOC will use the addition capacity to serve its markets in Orissa as well as the neighboring states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
“The supply of gases is critical to the operation of the iron and steel making furnaces, and the award of the oxygen plant contract is an important milestone for our expansion project,” commented S N Singh, Managing Director of Rourkela Steel Plant. “We look forward to a lasting relationship with BOC.”
The new plant is being designed by Linde’s Engineering Division with major items of plant and equipment being imported from Germany. Project execution and local scope including civils, structurals, electrics and control systems will be overseen by BOS India’s Project Engineering Division.
The new contract follows Rourkela’s 2007 contract awarded to BOC India for the supply and installation of a 700 tonne/day Air Separation Unit on an outright sale basis; this unit is currently under construction. BOC is also constructing two 750 tonne/day Air Separation Units for SAIL’s IISCO steel plant, and had previously supplied and commissioned a 550 tonne/day Air Separation Unit for SAIL’s Bhilai steel plant (1998).
BOC India Limited, a member of The Linde Group, successfully blends local innovation and adaptation with international expertise from The Group. BOC India provides tailor-made solutions for its customers while satisfying the strictest international standards for production and safety.
The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with more than 50,000 employees working in around 100 countries worldwide. In the 2007 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 12.3 billion. The Group’s strategy is geared toward earnings-based and sustainable growth, focusing on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.
Linde acts responsibly toward its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment, and is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.
Rourkela Steel Plant, one of five integrated steel plants operated by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), was the first integrated steel plant in India’s public sector. The plant was set up with German collaboration with an installed annual capacity of 1 million tones of crude steel, which was subsequently enhanced to 1.9 million tonnes/year. The plant currently produces 1.671 million tonnes of Saleable Steel per year in a wide and sophisticated product range that includes various flat, tubular and coated products.
Rourkela Steel Plant is located in the northwestern tip of Orissa and at the heart of a rich mineral belt. Being situated on the Howrah-Mumbai mainline, Rourkela is very well connected with most of the important cities of India.