khaleej times Tuesday,March 16, 2010

ARABIAN Industrial Gases Company (AIGCo) established in1977 was amongst the pioneering companies to have entered intothe industrial gases production sector in the UAE. With more than30 years of experience in the local market, today AIGCo is thefastest growing producer and distributor of quality industrial andspecialty gases in the UAE that has built a reputation as the mosttrusted supplier of choice in the country and the region.AIGCo supplies gases to a wide portfolio of customers ranging

from the ship repair companies to petroleum concerns and industrialfacilities. The customer base is spread throughout the UAE and alsoin other GCC countries. AIGCo provides common industrial gasesin liquid form and a wide range of compressed gases. Whatever thecustomer needs, AIGCo has the appropriate means of supply viacylinders, cylinder bundles, tube trailers or its own fleet of tankers.Our Services: AIGCo can produce and deliver pure gases and

gas mixtures for research, diagnostic and calibration applications.All products are accompanied by full documentation of complianceand certification. Our services include:

Gas applications, research and development.•Gas systems design and installation.•Technical support.•Audit services.•On-site equipment operations and maintenance.•Fabrication of cylinders racks and baskets.•Gas equipment rental.•Gas equipment maintenance and testing.•Pipeline purging, line inserting, pressure/leak testing.•

Our Customers: AIGCo, overthe decades, has been catering tothe changing needs of the market,offering an uninterrupted supplyof the various industrial gases withtotal commitment to the higheststandards of quality and safety toa growing clientele from a widespectrum of industries, including:

Petrochemical•Oil & Gas•Chemical•Metal Fabrication•Glass•Food & Beverage•Healthcare & Medical•Pharmaceutical•Diving•Plastics•Utilities•Water & Wastewater Treat-•ment

Latha Krishnan

ESTABLISHED in 1978, Emirates IndustrialGases Company (EIGC) is one of the leadingindustrial gas suppliers in the United ArabEmirates. With a large and loyal customer baseincluding government and private entities, thecompany enjoys a significant market share in thecountry.Its four branches in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman

and Fujairah are supported by a huge logisticsoperation and services allowing it to meet thedemands of its customers. Being part of theRefrigeration and Oxygen Company (ROC)Group based in Kuwait, EIGC also supportsventures in the GCC countries, Egypt and Jordanwhile being a major shareholder of Aircryo Inc.,

an air separation plant manufacturer based in theUSA.In the UAE, EIGC has the largest capacity with

two ASU plants in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimahproducing total quantity of more than 300 TPD.While supplying gases to a wide variety ofindustries, EIGC is also constantly improvingand developing the technology to provide theright solutions to its customers. At the same timethe company does not compromise on healthand safety of its employees and its concern forthe environment. In addition to ISO 9001: 2003quality accreditation, EIGC operations are onpar with American standards and also have theapproval from the Department of Transport(DOT) in the USA.From being the producer and supplier of gases,

equipments and services, EIGC is now moving

to becoming applications and solution provider.“Since 2006 we have moved into long-termBOOM (build, own, operate and maintain)partnerships with two major clients – Guardianin Ras Al Khaimah that produces float-glassand Al Ghurair Steel Mill in Abu Dhabi. Wehave installed and commissioned these on-sitefacilities for continuous supply of gases meetingcurrent and in anticipation of future demand.“We are also part of a joint venture with a majorinternational company to produce and supplyCO2 for EOR applications,” informs Ala OsamaMikdadi, General Manager of EIGC.Nuclear technology and hydrogen fuels are

coming to the UAE and EIGC is preparing toserve related industries in future. The company,which has experienced steady growth over theyears, continues to go forward conservatively.

Latha Krishnan

OXYGEN, nitrogen, hydrogen and rare gases have been at thecore of the activities of Air Liquide since the company cameinto being in 1902. Today, more than a 100 years later, AirLiquide is the world leader in gases for industry, health andenvironment, supplying gas solutions from everything rangingfrom filling a balloon with helium and examining and helpingpatients in hospitals to fuelling satellites, water treatment, andin the manufacture of steel, petrochemicals and photovoltaicpanels. The group is present in 75 countries and has 43,000employees worldwide and records an annual turnover of 12billion Euros.In the Middle East, Air Liquide has been operating in Leba-

non since 1928.With major investments in Kuwait, Oman, Qa-

tar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, operating a large facility in JebelAli, offices in Abu Dhabi, and its corporate headquarters forthe Middle East in Dubai, Air Liquide employs more than 600people in the region.“We have already invested more than 500 million Euros

in the Middle East in the last five years,” informs Jacques deThezy, Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide Middle East &North Africa, citing acquisitions and start-up of new units inthe region.In 2008, Air Liquide acquired Pure Helium, a leading in-

ternational supplier of helium and argon, based in Dubai andlast year it acquired 75 per cent of Al Khafrah Industrial Gasesin Saudi Arabia, to accelerate expansion in the region. During2009, the company commissioned the world’s largest carbonmonoxide unit for Saudi International Petrochemicals Com-pany, signed a long-term supply agreement with Oryx GTL inQatar to supply oxygen, and commissioned a new nitrogen unitto serve the needs of an aromatic facility in Oman.“We see a big potential for growth and are quite bullish about

this region. Since we work only on a Business-to-Business

(B2B) basis and are not much exposed to the public directly,we were not much affected by the global recession. Moreover,our strong financial position has helped us to grow at a healthyrate here and around the world,” says Thezy.Growth in the business has been continuously stimulated by

Research and Development (R&D) and Air Liquide’s five ma-jor R&D centres continue to keep the company in the forefrontof innovation bringing out and patenting new technologies andsolutions not only to produce gas but also to use it.These centres are also constantly innovating new applica-

tions. One such technology is that of injecting liquid nitrogeninto ready-mix concrete during summer months to keep it cool.Another is the process of quick-freezing fresh fish in fish farmsfor export.“Such new applications will open new market segments

and enhance our presence in the region. Air Liquide intendsto invest another one billion dollars into projects here and withour two big strengths of innovative technology and access tocapital we believe we are in the right position to succeed,” saysThezy.

AIR LIQUIDE

Gases thatbenefit industry,healthandenvironmentAir Liquide intends to invest onebillion dollars into projects

ARABIAN INDUSTRIALGASES COMPANY

Trustedsupplierofchoice

Ala Osama Mikdadi

EMIRATES INDUSTRIAL GASES COMPANY

Providingcustomer-driven total gas solutions

Arabian Industrial Gases Company is thefastest growing producer and distributorof quality industrial and specialty gasesin theUAE

OUR PRODUCTSOxyg• enNitrogen•Argon•Acetylene•Helium•Carbon Dioxide•Breathing Air•Hydrogen•Dry Ice•Ammonia•Nitrous Oxide•Diving Mixtures•Specialty Gas Mixtures•Refrigerants•Welding Mixtures•Ethylene Oxide Mixtures•Pure Ethylene Oxide•

Nuclear technologyand hydrogen fuelsare coming to theUAE andEIGC ispreparing to serverelated industries

Prasad Nair, Air Liquide, Pure Helium Gulf, UAE Abdullah Al Sadi, Air Liquide Sohar Industrial Gases, Oman Mustakim Patei (left) and Akrab Ali, Air Liquide Jebel Ali, UAE

khaleej times Tuesday,March 16, 2010

WITH Middle East countriiesinvesting billions to emergeas the region’s industrialgas capital, there’s plenty

of global interest in this dynamic market.Not to mention our own eager observershere at gasworld magazine.We’ve all seen the region’s industrial

gas sector grow considerably in recentyears and interest in the Middle East hasdeveloped accordingly.Without eulogising too much, it’s easy

to see why. After all, the Middle East isa gases market with vast resources, an at-tractive business climate, and huge poten-tial. Such potential is spread across a widerange of sectors and applications, from theoil and gas industry to the water treatmentmarket.It’s for this reason that industrial gas de-

mand in the region has risen quite so much,driven by project activity and investmentsthroughout the Middle East countries.

Traditional growth driversAside from some topical emerging ap-

plications, there are other well-establishedgrowth drivers that are currently catchingthe eye.The oil and petrochemicals industry is

naturally the most notable growth driverwhen thinking of this region. Today, withoil prices back above the $70 per barrellevel, the region is buzzing once more andthought to be recovering at a much fasterpace than many others. There’s a renewedzest for the petrochemicals sector in theregion too.Saudi Arabia leads the way and, having

established its third major petrochemicalscomplex on the Kingdom’s West Coastat Rabigh, the Ministry of Oil and RoyalCommission are looking to exploit thesignificant reserves of oil, gases and by-products that it boasts.A spirited steel sector is also shimmer-

ing at present and posing the question, canthe Middle East be a major metals marketin the future?In short, the answer to that would prob-

ably be yes. The Middle East’s steel mar-ket outlook appears to be especially ebul-lient, according to reports.Demand for steel is expected to rise

again over the next five years, promptingrenewed oxygen consumption. Althoughsteel prices were expected to remainsubdued for 2009, the long-term outlookseems more optimistic now because oilprices have rebounded as expected in 2010and economic growth and capital invest-

ment is fuelled.So positive is the outlook for steel in the

region, that the Middle East was report-edly the only region to register a positivegrowth of 2.2 per cent in the first eightmonths of 2009, compared to the same pe-riod of 2008.With demand and widespread infra-

structure development in something of ahigh growth mode, steel consumption isbuoyant. Going forward then, why is theMiddle East likely to grow into this majormetals market? Put simply, due to low-cost fuel and energy costs — factors thatsimilarly, are likely to ensure the regionwill remain the lowest cost producer ofchemicals and plastics in the near future.Metals production and smelting are

high-energy processes and among the firstindustries to suffer at the hands of the re-cession. In the Middle East, however, theadvantages of low-cost feedstock are setto propel the region forward as a metalsproducer.

HeliumConsidered as part of the Rest of the

World (ROW) bracket of countries, as op-posed to the US and Europe for example,the Middle East contributes to the ROWregion’s three per cent share of the globalmarket.The region has contributed to strong de-

mand growth in recent years, driven by theindustrialisation of a number of emerging

economies in the area, while the RasGas(Qatar) helium plant (on-stream in 2006)has reached higher production rates oflate.New sources and expansions to helium

capacity and production are set to comeon-stream in the Middle East in the nexthalf decade, as well as inAustralia, the USand the African continent.

The numbersThere are clearly a lot of reasons to be

interested in the Middle East. But let’s getto the crunch of it all— the figures so far.At the heart of all the hyperbole and al-lure, lies a regional gases market valued ataround $1.34bn in 2008.SaudiArabia leads the way as the largest

gas market in the region, with a dominant31 per cent share of revenues — totallingaround $411m. Turkey actually comprisesthe second largest share of revenues at 16per cent or $211m, while Iran accounts for12 per cent of the Middle East market at agas business worth $164m.The UAE boasts industrial gas indus-

tries valued at $120m respectively or nineper cent of the regional market.It’s interesting to note that the Middle

East market is still dominated by the inde-pendents — with independent producersholding a commanding 76 per cent shareof the market and independent distributorsactively operating a 10 per cent share.Linde (at seven per cent) and Air Liq-

uide (at four per cent) are the most notablemajor gas players to have penetrated theregion’s industrial gas business, but there’sclearly still plenty of scope for the globalgas community to enter the market and de-velop it even further.Manufacturing, as an end-use industry,

accounts for approximately 38 per cent ofgas revenues or just over $510m. Chemi-cals and petrochemicals, including thedownstream plastics and by-product sec-tors, drive up to 29 per cent of industrialgas revenues at $391m and the typicallynon-cyclical healthcare sector drives gasdemand to the tune of $125m of revenues— or nine per cent of the market.

OutlookIt’s a promising outlook ahead. While

the Middle East accounts for only a two tothree per cent share of the global industrialgas business, leading independent indus-trial gas consultancy Spiritus Consultingforecasts around a 10 per cent per annumgrowth rate for the region over the nextfive years.Screen Advertising Agents Reel Cinemas, Dubai Mall

www.reddoorproductions.net

WIDELY REGARDED as the leading global industrial gasmagazine, gasworld magazine is in circulation in over140 countries around the world and regularly provides aregional market analysis.Published on a monthly basis, gasworld magazine is

produced from its offices in Cornwall, UK, and appealsto a truly international readership, aiming at companiesinvolved with all aspects of the industrial gas business— from production through to distribution and end-useapplications.As well as keeping its readers up-to-date and at the

forefront of the latest industry news, gasworld magazinealso provides the industrial gas community with regularin-depth and insightful interviews, profiles and specialfeatures and much more. A carefully chosen selectionof this content is translated into Spanish, Russian andChinese languages for its global audience. All content isalso uploaded to the comprehensive gasworld website,updated daily and offering an expansive archive ofcontent available to subscribers.Dedicated to broadening its readership, gasworld

has also established bi-monthly Chinese and Russianlanguage publications, distributed throughout theserespective regions.At gasworld there is also a keen eye on the Middle

East region — an attractive market for the industrialgases business and a positive climate for investment.This interest has been both complemented andheightened in recent years with the advent of gasworld’sconference events. The first ever gasworld MiddleEast Conference took place in Dubai in December 2007,providing a platform for discussion, debate and theopportunity to discuss both the issues that matter andthe Middle East as an emerging industrial gases market.After proving a resounding success and following

conferences in South Africa (2008) and South America(2009), the conference roadshow returned to the MiddleEast just a few months ago with gasworld’s Middle EastConference 2009 in Abu Dhabi.

ApromisingOUTLOOK

At the forefront ofindustrial gas developments

TheMiddle East is aregion that remainsan investmenttarget formajorgas companies andregional players alike

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