Construction of the country's first air-separation project that uses LNG cold energy kicked off in Fujian Province yesterday.

The project is a joint venture between Air Products Inc and CNOOC Oil Base Group Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), the country's top offshore oil company.

The joint venture will build and operate an air-separation unit (ASU) and liquefier in Putian of Fujian Province, to produce liquid oxygen, nitrogen and argon by using cold energy from liquefied natural gas (LNG).

It is the first application of cold energy from LNG at an ASU plant in China.

"The project is one of CNOOC's key efforts to enhance energy efficiency and protect the environment. And making use of cold energy from LNG is strategically important," Meng Liming, general manager of CNOOC Oil Base Group Ltd, said on Friday.

Meng called for CNOOC to build the facility and to further develop other LNG cold energy projects by strengthening research and development in the area.

The joint venture will also build and operate associated storage and distribution operations at the ASU plant to supply liquid products to the local market in Fujian Province, a fast-growing marketplace for industrial gases, according to Air Products.

With a total investment of 300 million yuan, the project will come onstream in the first half of 2009.

It will be able to produce 300 tons of liquid oxygen, 300 tons of nitrogen and 10 tons of argon per day.

The country's energy efficiency and environmental protection push has seen companies like CNOOC shift focus to the development of clean fuels such as LNG.

(China Daily September 29, 2007)