Industrial and specialty gases supplier Air Liquide has confirmed that medical oxygen consumption from hospital customers is “increasing very significantly” and that the necessary reallocation of oxygen supply to serve hospitals has resulted in a force majeure notice being issued to industrial customers.
Business Day reported this month that Air Liquide and Afrox Linde in December declared the force majeure to their industrial customers. A third supplier, Air Products, has not.
Bulk oxygen is used in the healthcare sector but is also essential to many other industries such as steelmaking, metals refining and fabrication, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and petroleum processing.
Air Liquide has warned of possible momentary interruptions in deliveries to industrial customers.
“However, Air Liquide’s teams are fully mobilised to address the needs in medical oxygen of the hospitals.”