Outsourcing can lower the refiner's hydrogen cost. It is a core product to an industrial gas company which is strategically focused on hydrogen. Air Products' engineering expertise is geared towards producing hydrogen in the most cost effective and reliable manner, as a result of owning and operating 35 steam methane reformers around the world. These plants are located in areas of high refinery and petrochemical activity such as: Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Texas and Louisiana, US Gulf coast; Los Angeles Basin, California; and Mab Tha Phut, Thailand.

Utilizing this continuous operating experience, the industrial gas supplier brings advantages to the hydrogen supply not normally available to the typical refiner. Feedback and bench-marking from its own SMRs allows continuous improvements to be made both in initial design and in on-going optimization, the latter offering significant energy savings. Further hydrogen cost reductions are possible by linking consumers together through a pipeline supply network with multiple plant capability.

With large capital investment expected to be a requirement in the near to mid-term, combined with refining margins not expected to be supportive of such investment, the out-sourced hydrogen supply offers a partial but effective solution to minimizing costs. Perhaps more significantly in today's climate, it releases capital for other investment opportunities aimed at improving the refinery margin.