Barka Desalination Company has inked a contract with government-owned entity Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) to construct and operate a new seawater desalination plant at Barka in the northern area of Oman.

Industrial gases supplier Air Products has broken ground on a steam methane reformer (SMR) at Covestro’s facility in Baytown, Texas.

Estimated to cost up to $400m, the SMR will be located on land leased from Covestro, a German manufacturer of high-tech polymer materials for key industries.

The SMR will produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide to be supplied to Covestro and other customers linked to Air Products’ Gulf Coast Hydrogen and CO Pipeline Networks.

The plant will produce about 125m standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen and a supply of carbon monoxide. It is scheduled to commence operations in 2018.

The facility will be constructed through a partnership between Air Products and Technip, an engineering services provider.

Air Products executive vice president of industrial gases Corning Painter said: “We have worked with Covestro (formerly Bayer MaterialScience) for decades and look forward to being an important industrial gas supplier to them in Baytown for many more years to come.

“The new SMR strengthens Air Products’ position in the Texas carbon monoxide market and enhances our well established hydrogen supply network.”