Air Liquide S.A. (Paris, France) has reached a major milestone in its long-standing relationship with Oxea GmbH (Monheim am Rhein, Germany) by expanding its production capabilities at Oxea’s site in Bay City, Texas. This strategic $200-million investment involves the construction of a new, high-efficiency Partial Oxidation (POX) unit and underscores Air Liquide’s technological leadership and commitment to capturing growth in a key industrial basin.
The Group will build a new innovative high-efficiency POX unit scheduled for startup in early 2029. The unit will provide reliable, large-scale syngas and low-carbon hydrogen production to support Oxea’s rising chemical demand, as well as the expansion of its oxo-alcohols and performance chemicals operations, leveraging its long-standing presence at one of the most feedstock-advantaged sites on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Thanks to an original design by Air Liquide’s engineering teams, the new plant features high environmental efficiency. An innovative carbon dioxide (CO₂) recycling loop enables the recirculation of CO₂ back into Oxea’s reactor to optimize syngas composition and production. The facility will partially replace some existing facilities and will reduce the Group’s net CO₂ emissions by approximately 64,000 tons per year, despite providing additional capacity.
By expanding its robust pipeline network and industrial footprint in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Air Liquide continues to support its partners’ further expansion in the United States, and seize opportunities in key industrial basins with low-carbon, competitive, innovative, and reliable solutions.
Matthieu Giard, Group Executive Committee member notably in charge of supervising operations in the Americas, stated: “This project represents a significant opportunity to align industrial growth and efficiency while demonstrating that competitive solutions can also support climate objectives. We are proud to invest alongside industrial partners who are actively expanding in the U.S. market. By deploying new technologies and CO₂ recycling capabilities in Bay City, Air Liquide is delivering a solution that ensures both superior reliability and efficiency for our customer.”
By investing in additional capacity at one of the most feedstock-advantaged sites on the U.S. Gulf Coast, OXEA is positioning itself to reliably serve growing global demand while strengthening supply security for key customers.
“This investment demonstrates our shareholders’ confidence in our strategy and our unwavering commitment to our customers. We are building a world-class supply platform at Bay City that will serve our markets reliably for decades to come. We are not just expanding capacity; we are strengthening the foundation for OXEA’s long-term global leadership in oxo chemicals, and further establishing Bay City as a premier industrial park attracting future investment, strategic partnerships, and economic development for the region,” said Michael McHenry, Chief Executive Officer of OXEA.
“Achieving FID is both a strategic investment and a promise. It positions OXEA’s Bay City site as a platform for further expansion and firmly establishes Bay City as a cornerstone of OXEA’s global production network. It reinforces our commitment to our customers and positions OXEA as the reliable, long-term supplier of choice in our core markets. At the same time, it advances our vision of Bay City as a growing industrial park, and the broader Bay City community,” said Jorge Moshe Castro Roldan, Vice President of Global Procurement and Project Sponsor at OXEA.