(Archived) Praxair Board Elects McVay

DANBURY, Conn., December 11, 2007 — Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) announced today that Larry D. McVay, retired chief operating officer of TNK-BP Holding, a BP joint venture in Russia, has been elected  to the Praxair Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2008. His election brings the total number of Praxair directors to 11, 10 of whom are independent.

Based in Moscow, TNK-BP Holding is a vertically integrated oil company established in 2003 as a result of the merger/acquisition of Russian oil companies, TNK and SIDANCO. The company is 50% owned by BP.

As chief operating officer at TNK-BP Holding, McVay, 60, provided executive leadership for upstream and downstream operations, oil field services, technology and supply-chain management. His responsibilities included production of more than two million barrels per day of oil and gas, operation of five refineries, and management of the largest marketing operation in the Ukraine and the second largest in Russia with over 2,500 retail stations. He retired in late 2006.

From 2000 to 2003, McVay served as technology vice president and vice president of health, safety and environment for the exploration and production sector of BP PLC. He previously held a variety of engineering and management positions at Amoco in the areas of enhanced oil recovery, pipeline operations and refining, and was managing director of Amoco's joint venture, Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company, in Egypt.

McVay earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas Tech University where he was recognized as a Distinguished Engineer in 1995.

Praxair is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2006 sales of $8.3 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies bring productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.