Linde adds petrochemical business unit to Houston engineering offices

Technology company The Linde Group has added a petrochemical plant business unit to its engineering division offices in Houston, the company announced on Friday.

The new regional business unit broadens Linde Engineering's capabilities in North America and will serve petrochemical customers on a wide range of projects, from consulting and technical support, revamp and expansion studies to EPC (engineering, procurement, and construction) execution of mid-size projects. 

In addition, the new unit plays a role in the project execution of mega-projects, such as the large-scale ethylene plant for ExxonMobil at the nearby Baytown complex in Texas. The go-ahead for the Linde-Bechtel consortium to build this plant was announced in May. 

Also, the recently-announced framework agreement with Shell Global Solutions will be supported from the Houston office.

"With the increase in raw materials from US shale gas supplies, investment in new and existing production assets is fully underway," said Bruce Hensinger, CEO of Linde Engineering North America. 

"This capacity expansion puts our feet on the ground in the center of the North American petrochemical industry," he added. "Our wide range of processes and upgrade solutions for the industry coupled with a long experience in project management qualifies Linde Engineering as one of the top international EPC companies."

Linde Engineering offers solutions for the petrochemical industry with a focus on olefins, as well as for the production of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).