August 10, 2006 No.1129

MHI Completes One of World's Largest Compressor Testing Facilities Responding to Rapid Expansion of Ultra Heavy-duty Compressor Market

Tokyo, August 10, 2006 - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has completed construction of one of the world's largest testing facilities for ultra heavy-duty compressors at its Hiroshima Machinery Works in Hiroshima prefecture. The completion ceremony was held today. The new facility can accommodate testing of compressor plants meeting the needs of ethylene plants having production capacities up to 2 million tons per annum (MTPA). In the case of large-scale petrochemical plants, requisite compressor plants generally consist of three or four compressing units and a steam turbine that drives compression units. With the completion of the new facility, MHI will now accelerate its marketing activities focused on ultra heavy-duty compressors.

Ultra heavy-duty compressor testing facility (Hiroshima Machinery Works)     The standards of the American Petroleum Institute (API) require compressor manufacturers to conduct test operation prior to shipment from the factory. Until now, MHI's testing facility was able to accommodate compressor plants up to the 1 MTPA class ethylene plants. As the petrochemical industry is currently expanding production capacity of their plants in order to cope with sharp increases in oil prices, demand for ultra heavy-duty compressors has been increasing, prompting MHI's decision to build a test facility with a larger capacity. The testing facility cover an area of 10,000 m2, is one of the largest of its kind anywhere. Positioned above the basement and pit, which simultaneously accommodate up to four units of ultra heavy-duty compressors, are a gantry crane and a 28 meter-high dual-structure booth with movable roof. The testing facility also incorporates various performance testing equipment, a cooling tower and a central control room. Together these enable testing not only of the rotation and performance of the compressor itself but also of comprehensive compressor plant operation by actually connecting compressors and a steam turbine driving the compressors. The ultra heavy-duty compressor plants to be tested at the new facility are for installation at large-scale ethylene plants (max. 2 MTPA), gas-to-liquid (GTL) plants and LNG plants. The testing facility will soon test-operate a compressor to be used at a 1 MTPA ethylene plant in Saudi Arabia. Compressors support the energy and chemical industries not only for use in the transfer of gas and oil through pipelines but also as key equipment in oil refineries and chemical plants, including ethylene, ammonia and methanol plants. MHI holds a near 25% share of the global compressor market in the petrochemical and oil refining fields. In ethylene plants especially, the company leads the market with a near 50% share. With the completion of the new testing facility, MHI is now able to strengthen its capability substantially to respond to the needs of the ultra-large compressor market, ushering in a phase of even more aggressive marketing activity. # # # About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 2,792 billion yen in fiscal 2005 (year ended March 31, 2006). MHI's diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, power plants, chemical plants, environmental equipment, steel structures, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space rocketry and air-conditioning systems. For more information, please visit the MHI website (http://www.mhi.co.jp). PRESS CONTACT: Hideo Ikuno: h.ikuno@daiya-pr.co.jp Tel: +813-6716-5277, Fax: +813-6716-5929 Daiya PR (in charge of public relations for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)

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