UOP to Establish Natural Gas Processing Design and Operations Center in Malaysia

UOP LLC, a Honeywell (NYSE: HON) company, announced today that it will establish a natural gas processing design center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to better support the Southeast Asia market.

“Establishing this design and operations center in Malaysia demonstrates our commitment to serving the Southeast Asia market and our numerous customers there,” said Carlos A. Cabrera, president and CEO of UOP, noting that gas production for Southeast Asia is expected to grow to more than 12 trillion cubic feet by 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The new design center, which is expected to employ approximately 40 by the end of this year, will include engineering, design, process and project expertise, service and sales functions.

Natural gas processing consists of separating out impurities from raw natural gas released from underground gas fields in order to meet the quality standards specified by the major pipeline transmission and distribution companies.

The UOP design center will initially focus on executing projects involving UOP’s Separex™ membrane systems, which are used to remove impurities from natural gas streams. Various impurities can reduce the gas’ value and utility as a fuel or petrochemical source. In addition, certain combinations of impurities are highly corrosive and destroy pipelines and equipment unless they are removed.

The Separex membrane systems are modular, skid-mounted units containing either spiral wound or hollow fiber membranes. Depending on the application, these systems require less capital and energy than competing technology and provide smaller footprints, allowing for lower costs and easier installation on off-shore platforms